Amazon made headlines in 2021 by paying a gigantic $11 billion for the broadcast rights to Thursday Night Football for 11 seasons. At a hefty $58.8 million per game, the deal highlighted just how much the streaming giant’s ambitions are to dominate live sports.
But after a Chrismas Day hangover touchdown-less edition of TNF between the Seattle Seahawks and the Chicago Bears, fans are scolding the product while also wondering if Amazon overpaid for a front-row seat to mediocrity. And after the Los Angeles Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers 12-6 just two weeks earlier, it means the broadcaster has paid nearly $120 million to show the only two games of the NFL season without any touchdowns scored.
The Seahawks-Bears game resulted in a disappointing 6-3 scoreline, and both offenses struggled after Christmas Day. Caleb Williams, the much-hyped No. 1 overall pick by Chicago, completed just 16 of 28 passes for 122 yards while being sacked seven times.
Seattle’s Geno Smith didn’t play much better, throwing for 136 yards and taking three sacks. Together, the teams managed a combined 444 total yards, less than what some elite quarterbacks can generate on their own in a good week. Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson said the game was a “snooze fest” on the field. It was even worse in the court of public opinion, AKA the internet.
Fans didn’t hold back and went on social media to voice their frustration with both the teams and the NFL’s product on Prime Video. One Bears fan unleashed decades of frustration and wrote, “Tonight’s Seahawks vs Bears game was sheer embarrassment for this lifelong Bears fan. McCaskey family, do your fans a favor and just sell the team. The culture you’ve established over the last 40 years can then change.”
Another fan was frustrated and unimpressed with Amazon’s investment and said, “Netflix gets Mahomes and Lamar on the same day, and Amazon gets a 6-3 Seahawks Bears game. Bezos must be ——.” Even baseball fans joined the fun, with one joking that the score was identical to a Seattle Mariners vs. Chicago White Sox game during the MLB regular season.
The criticism wasn’t the first time Thursday Night Football has disappointed this season. Two weeks ago, the Los Angeles Rams barely slid by the San Francisco 49ers 12-6 in another game empty of touchdowns. The contest, referred to as “a horror to watch” online, saw Rams kicker Joshua Karty score all 12 points, while the 49ers relied on Jake Moodys leg for their six points.
Despite its low entertainment value, Thursday Night Football has surprisingly succeeded in viewership metrics. As of November, games averaged 13 million viewers, with the Rams-49ers matchup drawing 12.29 million. This was a 54 percent increase from last year, but even those metrics couldn’t stop the mess of a game from being roasted online.
One of Prime’s NFL analysts, Ryan Fitzpatrick, summarized the situation for America by hoping Williams’ broken no-interception streak in losses would inspire him to “throw the ball down the field more.” His fellow panelist and Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez said he spoke with Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf after the game, and even he doesn’t know why the team failed to generate offense during the game.
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