Phoenix NBC affiliate goes to commercial mid-play during ‘SNF’

Week 11’s Sunday Night Football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers came down to the wire. It was the kind of game where any one play could have decided who lost.

Thanks to a significant technical flitch, viewers on KPNX — Phoenix’s NBC affiliate — missed a play that could have had a huge impact on the end result.

With the game tied 27-27 and just over four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow completed a pass near the sideline to receiver Tee Higgins. It initially looked as though it would be about a 12-yard completion, but Higgins made it even bigger. He broke one tackle and turned upfield.

It was ultimately a 21-yard gain for the Bengals. And if you were watching on KPNX, you’re just going to have to take our word for it. Because as Higgins was attempting to fight off more would-be tacklers on the Chargers, the KPNX feed cut abruptly to a commercial.

The feed returned in time to catch the end of the following play, a two-yard loss on a run from Cincinnati’s Chase Brown.

ABC viewers in Iowa missed a 47-yard touchdown run in a college football game between Notre Dame and Texas A&M. That same weekend, ABC viewers in Hawaii missed the end of USC’s win over LSU. Like Sunday night’s game, those games were both tied when the broadcast feed cut out. Earlier on Sunday, anyone watching the CFL’s Grey Cup on CBS Sports Network missed about two minutes of the game late in the third quarter when the connection was lost.

So, as frustrating as this certainly was for KPNX viewers, we’ve seen worse this year.

[JaguarGator 9 on X, Photo Credit: NBC]