The Pittsburgh Steelers will be playing their first primetime game of the 2021 season on Sunday night when they host the Seattle Seahawks at Heinz Field.
But one of the longstanding parts of a Sunday Night Football broadcast won’t be in attendance.
Legendary play-by-play broadcaster Al Michaels will have the week off. Instead, Mike Tirico will call Sunday’s game from Pittsburgh, alongside usual analyst Cris Collinsworth and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya.
This is the second season that NBC has given Michaels, 76, some weeks off during the season and used Tirico to fill in. Tirico usually serves as the host to the lead-in Football Night in America show and is also the lead play-by-play broadcaster for NBC’s coverage of Notre Dame football on Saturdays.
Tirico also broadcast the Steelers’ Wednesday evening game against the Baltimore Ravens last season, after it was postponed multiple times due to a COVID-19 outbreak among the Ravens.
The Steelers are 29-25 all-time on Sunday Night Football, and their 29 wins and .537 winning percentage are both fourth-best among all NFL teams. The Dallas Cowboys have the most wins with 35 and the Green Bay Packers have the highest winning percentage at .660.
The Steelers will also play on Sunday Night in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers.