The Dallas Cowboys kicked off their 2026 season with a matchup against the New York Giants. However, in the very first quarter, with 9:38 on the clock, during a 2nd-and-10, DeMarvion Overshown performed a late hit on the Giants’ quarterback, Jaxson Dart. The unnecessary roughness got the Cowboys a 15-yard penalty. However, the fans’ heat didn’t really touch Dart or Overshown. Instead, they showered fire on NBC’s Cris Collinsworth for his broadcasting error.
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“Watch how far he was out of bounds,” Collinsworth said as he called the play.
Well, Dart had taken just one step out of the boundary when Overshown headbutted him. In the NFL, a play ends right away when a ball carrier steps outside the boundary. And once that happens, the defenders cannot hit the players. Doing so will earn them a 15-yard penalty. But it’s worth noting that Dart got hit while he was still moving out of bounds.
However, the fans took to social media and blasted Collinsworth for his bad call on the late hit.
“Somehow Cris Collinsworth has gotten worse. Collinsworth yelling about how far Dart was out of bounds before the hit. Dart was out by ONE step,” one fan wrote.
“Look how far out of bounds he is! *replay shows as it’s being said his foot not even out yet* cris collinsworth S–KS. Stop renewing him! #nfl,” another added.
“Collinsworth saying he’s “so far out of bounds” and replay shows him get hit barely after his foot lands out of bounds. Come on Cris,” one more fan commented.
Meanwhile, a few others slammed the broadcaster for another bad call about Dart. And it came as Caleb Downs sacked Dart in the second quarter with 2:36 remaining on the clock.
“As a veteran player, you have to know that that guy is unblocked out there if he comes, and it is on you,” Collinsworth said. “You take that hit, that’s it.”
Fans didn’t like it when a famed broadcaster called a second-year quarterback a “veteran.”
Some even dragged the Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes into the picture. “Cris Collinsworth is on some mahomes type glaze with jaxson dart,” a fan wrote.
Collinsworth began his broadcasting journey in 1989 after spending eight years as an offensive player for the Cincinnati Bengals. He began as a reporter for Inside the NFL, and later in 1990, became a part of NBC’s NFL coverage. Despite having more than three decades of broadcasting experience, he failed to please the fans.
“Can Cris Collinsworth please retire already,” one fan slammed the broadcaster.
“There is 8 billion people on this planet, I am positive we can find someone better than Cris Collinsworth @SNFonNBC,” another fan added.
Collinsworth’s rough start to the 2026 season is certainly a concerning disconnect between the veteran broadcaster and the modern NFL audience. Even The Spun shared the criticism of Collinsworth, with fans calling him the “worst announcer” in the league.
Well, they also found some fans who stood by the announcer. But between wildly misjudging a late-hit penalty and confusing a second-year quarterback for a seasoned veteran, Collinsworth spent the season opener routinely contradicting the actual visual replays shown on screen.