Jim Nantz proved that the announcer's jinx is still alive and well in the NFL on Thanksgiving Day.
Nantz, the long-time play-by-play announcer for CBS, put the jinx to the test when Lions kicker Michael Badgley came on to attempt a 29-yard field goal with 1:57 remaining in the third quarter.
"Do not talk to me about an announcer's jinx," Nantz said defiantly, while noting that Badgley was perfect on both field goals and extra point kicks for the season.
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Naturally, Badgley was unable to make the chip-shot kick. It sailed wide left, ensuring that the Bills would maintain a 19-14 lead over the Lions.
"Do not talk to me about an announcer's jinx." 😬
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That Badgley missed such a short-distance kick was a surprise. But Badgley's 10-of-10 mark on field goal kicks before the miss was well above his career field goal percentage of 82.5 on 97 career attempts.
It was only natural, therefore, that Badgley would regress toward the mean at some point. It just — ironically and fittingly — happened after Nantz's assertion that there was no jinx.
That led Nantz's broadcast partner, Tony Romo, to apologize to Lions fans for his partner's actions.
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Badgley would later make up for his miss. He made a 51-yard field goal with 23 seconds left in regulation to tie the game 25-25. That began a new streak of made kicks for the fifth-year specialist.
Still, the miss proved consequential to the Lions. They ended up losing 28-25 on a game-winning 47-yard field goal by Tyler Bass with two seconds left in regulation.
The Bills kicker had a streak of his own broken earlier in the game when he missed an extra point kick in the fourth quarter. He had made his previous 104 point after attempts dating to 2020.
Romo said that Nantz had mentioned Bass' streak earlier in the game, so he blamed that miss on his broadcast partner as well.
