:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71354028/1240716632.0.jpg "Why Al Michaels is not calling 'Sunday Night Football' this week, why it's Mike Tirico with Cris Collinsworth")
The NFL is back with to close out the first Sunday of the 2022 NFL season. Technically this is the second SNF game because the Thursday kickoff game – this year featuring the Bills thumping the Rams – is technically an SNF production by NBC.
This year brings a significant change to the broadcast. For the first time since the 2005 season, Al Michaels will not be serving as the primary play-by-play announcer for the weekly primetime game. Michaels moved to SNF from MNF in 2006 and this year moved over to Amazon Prime to call .
Michaels will still call one NBC playoff game, but the 2022 season will feature Mike Tirico in the full-time play-by-play role. Tirico has called some games since joining NBC in 2016, particularly when Michaels would take some midseason breaks. This year, he will join Cris Collinsworth to call every SNF game on the schedule.