The first year of Amazon Prime Video’s partnership with the NFL has had its ups and downs.
The broadcasts have been generally excellent, but some of the games have been snoozers, none more so than the Colts-Broncos game from last week. This contest went into extra time despite neither team scoring a score during regulation.
When the Commanders and Bears clashed in Chicago on Thursday, neither team scored a touchdown in the second and third quarters, prompting commentators Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit to mock their bad luck.
Bears quarterback Justin Fields threw a beautiful 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dante Pettis after halftime, which ultimately breached the dam.
I believe it was at least beautiful.
It was somewhat difficult to tell.
After six quarters of waiting to see a football enter the end zone, the Amazon broadcast botched the shot.
—NFL On Prime Video (@NFLonPrime)
14 October 2022
I can only image how difficult this moment was for the game’s director and producers. Everyone has had a difficult day at work occasionally.
Likewise, what the heck happened here, gentlemen? Why are these images flashing across our screens during a play? How is it possible that we did not see the snap, drop back, or throw when a long pass was completed on Thursday night for the first time in three weeks? Why are we trying to catch up with the action while the ball is already in motion?
While the Prime NFL account posted the entire video, the official NFL account decided to just show the portion of the play containing actual football.
Neither choice was optimal.
—NFL (@NFL)
14 October 2022
The Bears were unable to maintain their lead, as the Commanders scored with the assistance of a muffed punt and a strong run by Brian Robinson.
—NFL (@NFL)
14 October 2022
The Amazon cameras captured this one unblemished.
—NFL (@NFL)
14 October 2022
Washington ultimately prevailed 12-7.
The Saints will travel to Arizona to play the Cardinals on Thursday night next week. Let’s all hope they score a few more touchdowns, and that Amazon can show them clearly on our televisions.