Thursday Night Football announcer Al Michaels wasn't thrilled with last season's slate of games, joking at one point that “a game can be so bad, it’s almost good.”
Did he get better matchups to call on Amazon Prime Video this upcoming season?
The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs fell to the Detroit Lions in the 2023 Kickoff Game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept 7.
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That league opener, which over the last 20 years has been hosted by the reigning champion, was on a Thursday but aired on NBC and Peacock.
The Thursday Night Football slate broadcast by Amazon started in Week 2 with the Minnesota Vikings at the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles. It was a promising start to the season for Amazon with a star-studded matchup between two of the NFC's top three seeds from the 2022 playoffs. The meeting ended with the Eagles winning 34-28 thanks to four Minnesota fumbles.
In Week 3, Amazon featured a game between two other 2022 NFC playoff teams with the San Francisco 49ers taking care of business against the shorthanded New York Giants.
NFL
The defending champion Chiefs made an appearance on Amazon in Week 6 when they hosted Sean Payton, Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos in a slow-paced 19-8 win.
Fellow AFC North contenders squared off in Week 11 when the Baltimore Ravens beat the Cincinnati Bengals 34-20.
With the league's traditional Thanksgiving games airing on national television, the NFL's first Black Friday Football game was broadcasted by Amazon the following day in Week 12 with the Miami Dolphins beating the New York Jets.
The Jets also closed out the Amazon schedule with a Week 17 matchup on the road against the Cleveland Browns.
Last season, Amazon Prime Video became the first streaming service to have a season-long broadcasting deal with the NFL. Amazon aired 15 TNF games during the 2022 regular season, with Michaels calling play-by-play and longtime college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit providing color commentary.
The quality of the games turned out to be not so great, including a touchdown-less Week 5 game in which the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Broncos 12-9 in overtime.
"In fact, at one point during the game, I said to Kirk, ‘Is it possible this game could be so bad that it’s actually good?’" Michaels told The Athletic in January. "He’d never heard that from a partner and went, ‘No!'”
Here's the full Thursday Night Football schedule for the 2023 NFL season.
What is the 2023 Thursday Night Football schedule?
Week 1 - Sept. 7
Detroit Lions 21, Kansas City Chiefs 20 (NBC)
Week 2 - Sept. 14
Philadelphia Eagles 34, Minnesota Vikings 28
Week 3 - Sept. 21
San Francisco 49ers 30, New York Giants 12
Week 4 - Sept. 28
Detroit Lions 34, Green Bay Packers 20
Week 5 - Oct. 5
Chicago Bears 40, Washington Commanders 20
Week 6 - Oct. 12
Kansas City Chiefs 19, Denver Broncos 8
Week 7 - Oct. 19
Jacksonville Jaguars 31, New Orleans Saints 24
Week 8 - Oct. 26
Buffalo Bills 24, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 18
Week 9 - Nov. 2
Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Tennessee Titans 16
Week 10 - Nov. 9
Chicago Bears 16, Carolina Panthers 13
Week 11 - Nov. 16
Baltimore Ravens 34, Cincinnati Bengals 20
Week 12 - Nov. 24 (Black Friday)
Miami Dolphins 34, New York Jets 13
Week 13 - Nov. 30
Dallas Cowboys 41, Seattle Seahawks 35
Week 14 - Dec. 7
New England Patriots 21, Pittsburgh Steelers 18
Week 15 - Dec. 14
Las Vegas Raiders 63, Los Angeles Chargers 21
Week 16 - Dec. 21
Los Angeles Rams 30, New Orleans Saints 22
Week 17 - Dec. 28
Cleveland Browns 37, New York Jets 20
