The Chicago Bears‘ matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 9 was likely already going to be a unique experience, and an announcement from NBC play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico earlier in the day guaranteed it.
Tirico will not call the game for the network as scheduled due to a health issue.
“Unfortunately, I will have to miss tonight’s game in Chicago due to a health issue,” Tirico said in a statement shared by NBC Sports PR on X. “I look forward to watching tonight and can’t wait to be back with Cris, Melissa and the rest of our SNF team next Sunday night in Cincinnati.”
The social media account added that Noah Eagle will step in as the play-by-play voice alongside Cris Collinsworth as the color commentator and Melissa Stark functioning as the sideline reporter.
Sunday night’s contest at Soldier Field would have marked the 300th career game for Tirico in the booth, regular season and playoffs combined, according to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. He joined the NBC team in 2022 but has been calling NFL contests for the past couple of decades.
Baker Mayfield Injury Has Led Buccaneers to Top Run Game in NFL Through 8 Weeks
As far as what is going to happen on the field, the Bears and the Bucs enter the contest as the Nos. 2 and 1-ranked rushing attacks in the league, respectively.
Part of the reason that is true for Tampa Bay involves the return of quarterback Baker Mayfield to action over the past two weeks despite a serious thumb injury on his throwing hand. As a result, he has attempted just 14 total passes over the past two weeks. However, both games have still ended in victories for the Buccaneers, who are now 3-5 and back in the hunt in the NFC South Division.
All told, Mayfield is 7-of-14 for 64 yards and one TD over the past two wins. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s offense has run the football for a total of 582 yards and four TDs on 105 combined carries over that stretch. The Buccaneers are currently averaging 168.8 yards per game on the ground.
Bears Running Back Kyle Monangai Will Not Play Against Buccaneers on SNF
Chicago (6-2) is putting up 150.8 yards on the ground this year, a figure that has dropped significantly over the last four weeks during the absence of RB2 Kyle Monangai.
Monangai will not play on Sunday night, missing his fifth straight contest with a turf toe injury. He had a “questionable” designation heading into the weekend, though it is not a surprise the Bears chose to err on the side of caution.
Turf toe issues tend to linger and can easily re-occur, and Chicago has a bye in Week 10. Thus, the team’s decision to hold Monangai out will allow the second-year running back another two full weeks to rehabilitate before the Bears return to action against the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field on November 22.
Mike Tirico Announcement to Alter Bears-Buccaneers SNF Showdown