Cris Collinsworth spent eight seasons as a wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, yet some of the team’s fans believe his broadcasts suggest otherwise. The NBC analyst has faced criticism online for what they see as consistent praise of Patrick Mahomes. However, Collinsworth has now pushed back on the claim.
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“So yeah, I was like… But I, I get it, especially when they’re this good, and you fall in love with these guys, you know?,”Cris Collinsworth said on First Word. “And you feel like you’ve been on the journey with them, and you don’t want to criticize. But at the same time, people in Pittsburgh have the same emotions about their team, and around the country. And I’ve got a job to try and keep it down the middle and part of the job is pointing out mistakes,” He then added, “And that makes people uncomfortable, especially when it’s, when it’s the team I used to play for and the city in which I live and, and all those things.”
Fans who feel Cris Collinsworth is against his former team may want to look at what he has said about the Bengals recently. Cincinnati is 6-2 and has won four games in a row. A win over the Steelers would give them sole possession of first place in the AFC North.
Collinsworth, who caught passes for the Bengals during his playing days, has been generous with praise for Joe Burrow and the offense heading into that game.
“He seems to throw it every time it’s the absolutely correct thing to do, and so as a coach what that does for you is it allows you to call a lot of deep passes, he just doesn’t miss the opportunities,” Collinsworth said. “They also have this great combination with Gesicki being enough of a threat going down the middle of the field that they work the middle of the field better than a lot of the combinations that I see.”
He kept the compliments coming on the Pro Football Focus Show, where he went through the matchup with his son, Jac.
“It’s hard to do a whole lot better than what the Bengals have been doing on offense. They’re throwing the ball around at a pace that is just I can’t even imagine it; what they’ve been able to do,” Collinsworth said.
Still, most of the complaints about Collinsworth involve Patrick Mahomes. His admiration for the Chiefs’ quarterback is well known, and some viewers get annoyed when he praises Mahomes.
For Cincinnati fans, that constant praise hits a nerve because Kansas City has been their biggest roadblock in the AFC. The two franchises have built a heated postseason rivalry in recent years, splitting back-to-back AFC Championship Games in 2022 and 2023.
With both teams fighting for top AFC playoff spots again this season, hearing a former Bengals star gush over their main conference rival feels like a betrayal to the hometown crowd.
He even got teased about it on air. Before the Chiefs played the Colts on “Sunday Night Football” in September, NBC Sports released a promo with comedian Nikki Glaser, who joked that Collinsworth has a “boy crush” on Mahomes.
Collinsworth took it in stride and said he might have to go after Mahomes that night just to make a point.
“So now Nikki Glaser’s on, like we’re promoting it on our own ‘Sunday Night Football,’” Collinsworth said. “At the beginning of the show, Nikki Glaser, who tore apart Tom Brady in the roast, you know what I’m talking about, the comedian. And so now she’s starting in on my love affair of Patrick Mahomes.
“And I’m like, I almost told Patrick when we had our meeting. I was like, ‘Hey man, you know one of these games, I’m just going to rip you for no apparent reason, just so I can. You know, would you be good with that?’ And I know Patrick, he’d be like, ‘Yeah, it’s fine, don’t worry about it.’”
Fans will keep arguing about whose side he’s on. Collinsworth, though, clearly knows his job and his own preferences, and he isn’t changing either one.