NBC is making a small change to its Thanksgiving NFL broadcast this year. Cris Collinsworth is taking the night off, so Jason Garrett will join Mike Tirico in the booth for the Bengals-Ravens game.

NBC treats Thanksgiving week as a long stretch of work, and some broadcasters use the holiday to be with their families. Collinsworth has done this before, even though he still handled the 2023 Seahawks-49ers game.

Thanksgiving is one of the biggest days in sports, second only to the Super Bowl. Every network uses its top crews. Fox will feature Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady for Lions-Packers. CBS will have Jim Nantz and Tony Romo for Chiefs-Cowboys. NBC has held the primetime Thanksgiving slot since 2012 and often rotates analysts when Collinsworth takes the night off.

Garrett covered the Sunday Night Football game right after Thanksgiving last season. NBC has also used Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison and Drew Brees in past holiday lineups. Collinsworth has called more than 500 games in his career, but lately, he has faced serious accusations about his integrity.

Broadcasters Manage Thanksgiving Week’s Busy Stretch

Cris Collinsworth and Mike Tirico (Photo By Tim Fuller-Imagn Images)
Networks also plan carefully around Thanksgiving week. They don’t want the same broadcast team calling three games in just over a week. That’s why Fox will give Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady the Sunday after Thanksgiving off, especially since Fox only has one Sunday game window in Week 13.

CBS is taking a different approach. Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will work a busy schedule, calling three games in eight days. After covering Chiefs-Colts this past Sunday, they’ll work Chiefs-Cowboys on Thursday, then Bills-Steelers in the national Sunday window. CBS rarely asks its top crew to work this many games in one week, but the schedule ended up that way.

NBC will follow its usual plan for Thanksgiving. Jason Garrett will work as the analyst, and Mike Tirico will handle play-by-play. But the bond between Collinsworth and Tirico is different, Collinsworth once even told Tirico he was worried about him. Still, NBC has used this holiday rotation for years and trusts Garrett to guide fans through the matchup.

Garrett steps into one of the most-watched games of the year. Collinsworth gets family time. NBC is trying to keep things steady, and fans get a familiar voice for the Thanksgiving game.