Eric Collins had maybe the most memorable debut of the 2025 NFL season.
For announcers, at least, there is no debate.
He left it all out there during his call alongside Mark Schlereth for Fox as the Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins traded fourth-quarter scores in an eventual 27-24 win for Carolina.
His first moment came with the Panthers trailing 17-0 in the second quarter. Carolina quarterback Bryce Young found Xavier Legette for a touchdown and Collins reached for a healthy helping of enthusiasm with his call. That continued all the way through the fourth quarter, when Collins really went for it on a Rico Dowdle rush up the middle.
Tua Tagovailoa’s touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle with 4:42 left in the game felt inspired by Gus Johnson.
And for the actual game-winner, when Young hit Mitchell Evans with 1:59 remaining, well see (and hear) for yourself:
By the grace of the football gods, Collins was the one calling that game, which needed life – Collins properly obliged until it went bonkers-mode; Collins excelled then as well.
Collins calls Charlotte Hornets games and calls college football and basketball for Fox Sports. He’s also an inaugural member of Amazon Prime Video’s NBA coverage. We’ll definitely be tuning in for those games.
Here are some more moments from the booth that caught our eye in Week 5.
Kevin Harlan gets game of the week
Anytime CBS’ Kevin Harlan is on a back-and-forth points-fest, the viewer is the winner. During the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 38-35 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, Harlan had many opportunities to go full throttle. Baker Mayfield and Emeka Egbuka supplied the setting once or twice, but it was Seahawks signal-caller Sam Darnold’s interception with less than a minute remaining that was Harlan’s highlight.
The way he enunciates ‘Lavonte David’ after the interception is perfect.
Spero Dedes stays with Titans-Cardinals craziness
The assignment of calling the Arizona Cardinals’ chokejob against the Tennessee Titans fell to CBS’ Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta.
Their first dose of lunacy came when Emari Demercado dropped the ball (allegedly) before crossing the goal line, thus negating what would have been a 72-yard touchdown and turning it into a touchback.
Then Dedes and Archuleta had to stiff through arguably the most ridiculous touchdown you’ll see this season. A Cam Ward pass was deflected, intercepted by the Cardinals, fumbled, knocked backward multiple times and recovered by Titans wideout Tyler Lockett to make it 21-19.
The duo delivered on the game-winning kick by Joey Slye, which snuck in closer than it looked and the booth made sure the viewers at home knew it without detracting from the magnitude of the moment. Quality stuff.
Bills fan gets Mike Tirico moment
Early in the second quarter of ‘Sunday Night Football,’ Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen rolled right and looked for an open receiver in the end zone. Nothing materialized. So he threw it into the first row of Highmark Stadium in western New York.
That’s when Mike Tirico shined.
A fan wearing a Matt Milano No. 58 jersey caught Allen’s pass. ‘He’s in row 10, he’s in row 15, he might get a beer! Where are you going man? It’s your moment!
‘He’s going to take it the distance. Maybe it wasn’t his seat. Maybe he doesn’t want to be on TV.’
