There’s been a recent run on whiparound shows in sports television. In an attempt to serve the fans the most high-octane, intense, and thrilling moments, sports leagues have tried to mimic the success of ‘NFL RedZone.’ On Sunday, RedZone proved why they are going to be hard to beat or even difficult to compare to once again.
Going into Week 9 of the NFL season, the slate wasn’t all jazzy. The marquee games were either bright and early for U.S. viewers – in the case of Kansas City vs. Miami – or at 4:25 p.m. Eastern, in the case of Dallas vs. Philadelphia. The game between Seattle vs. Baltimore represented a chance for a competitive game, but on paper, it wasn’t all that alluring. Nobody told that to anybody playing the games, though.
Several competitive games emerged out of the 1 p.m. slate. Storylines did, too, especially in the case of Minnesota vs. Atlanta. The Falcons saw Taylor Heinicke sub in for Desmond Ridder, while the Vikings were forced to turn to relative unknown Jaren Hall. But then Hall suffered an injury during the game, meaning that Joshua Dobbs, who the Vikings acquired just this week, had to enter the game! Many wondered if the former University of Tennessee star had a chance even to meet his teammates (Spoiler Alert: He still doesn’t know all their last names!)
So what happened?
Dobbs, against all odds, commanded the Vikings down the field and led them to a thrilling victory!
And who captured every single second of it?
NFL RedZone.
In Houston, a matchup of two 3-4 teams resided. Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers challenged rookie C.J. Stroud and the upstart Houston Texans. Both teams weren’t thought highly of at all going into the year for different reasons, though they’ve probably outperformed their expectations thus far. Still, nationally speaking, there wasn’t too much attention here.
So what did the teams do? All Bucs and Texans did was combined for:
- 73 total points
- 47 first downs
- 828 total yards
- Nine touchdowns
A whopping four of those nine touchdowns took place in the fourth quarter, right around the beginning of RedZone’s famed ‘Witching Hour.’ Host Scott Hanson’s “When Wins Become Losses, and Losses Become Wins” has become a staple of the show. It gets the segment treatment right when it’s transition time. While it doesn’t have a hard timeline, RedZone watchers know all about it.
Hanson made sure to hoist the moment up on social media on Sunday night.
“It’s really just hitting me now,” he said. “What a great Witching Hour that was today.”
He even noted that they made broadcast history on Sunday: That was the first time, in the 15 seasons that NFL RedZone has existed, that they had two teams trying to win the game. But both quarterbacks maneuvered for first downs simultaneously!
Viewers on Sunday were rewarded with the double-box treatment of the thrilling finishes in Atlanta and Houston. Stroud’s record-setting, unforgettable day culminated with a game-winning touchdown with six seconds to play in the game. That moment happened shortly after Dobbs’ miraculous touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Powell.
Where could NFL fans find every touchdown of the thrilling Tampa Bay-Houston game?
Where could viewers see the photo finish in Houston?
The same place they could see the dramatics in Atlanta.
And that makes RedZone incredibly tough to beat.
While the goal of the new whiparound shows may not be to “beat” the NFL — you are better off with some of the most advanced tasks in your trade versus trying to beat the behemoth that is the NFL — the fight for first is an unenviable task. It’s tough to beat all of that drama packed with dashes of convenience, comfort, and great television. RedZone provided that in spades on Sunday yet again, proving why they’re the king of the hill for whiparound shows in the sports TV world.