There was a post on X last night following the Cincinnati Bengals’ thrilling overtime win over the Denver Broncos.
It was that Kevin Harlan has no peers, meaning that he’s in a league of his own.
And without disparaging other announcers, we’d tend to agree. Harlan belongs in a class of his own and that’s not to say he’s untouchable, but he reached new heights in 2024. And he finished off the year, in which we at Awful Announcing awarded him an Awfulie for best play-by-play announcer, with a feather in his cap performance.
Harlan is as solid as they come for all 60 minutes — and then some. But as the moments grew brighter, he rose to the occasion.
He was just heating up.
As did the theatrics of the game.
Harlan is one of the few announcers in the game who is in the moment and allows his words to speak for it just as much as the play itself. He doesn’t overdo it, but he consistently nails the balance of making sure his call matches exactly what the moment calls for. And on the road, with a desperation pass on fourth down, a few juggles, and nearly out of bounds, there was no crowd roar to fuel the excitement (a few collective groans, sure).
Instead, you had Harlan’s voice brimming with raw excitement, perfectly capturing the moment without needing the crowd to fuel it.
But Bo Nix finding Marvin Mims Jr. for a 25-yard touchdown only tied the game. And in sending it to overtime, viewers were granted 10 extra minutes of Harlan.
Harlan’s performance in this Saturday evening thriller proved, once again, that when it comes to bringing the drama, there’s simply no one better.