Mike Tomlin’s first regular-season night in the NBC booth came with a small but very visible hiccup, and Maria Taylor wasn’t letting it slide.
During NBC’s NFL Kickoff pregame show from Lumen Field on Wednesday night, Tomlin repeatedly struggled with Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s initials, calling him “JNS” on air. Taylor eventually jumped in to straighten it out.
“JSN, I’m not gonna let you do it again,” she told Tomlin. “I’m not gonna let you do it again, JSN!”
Tomlin, who had just stepped away from the Steelers after 19 seasons, took the correction in stride. It was his first regular-season appearance as an NBC analyst, and only his second time working with the network after debuting as a studio analyst during the Hall of Fame Game in August.
Smith-Njigba has already become a familiar target for name mix-ups this year. Druski drew national backlash in February after badly mispronouncing the receiver’s name while presenting his Offensive Player of the Year award at NFL Honors.
The on-air slip was only one piece of a packed opener at Lumen Field. The Seahawks unveiled their Super Bowl LX championship banner before facing the Patriots in a rematch of February’s title game, with NBC building its entire broadcast around the moment.
Smith-Njigba entered the season after signing a $168.6 million extension and coming off a year in which he led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards. Sam Darnold is back at quarterback, trying to follow up a championship season, while the defense is built around All-Pro cornerback Devon Witherspoon.
New England brought its own headline names into the matchup. Drake Maye is leading a reworked offense that now includes three-time All-Pro receiver A.J. Brown, acquired to pair with All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez on the other side of the ball.
Tomlin is expected to be part of NBC’s Sunday night coverage throughout the season. After Wednesday, the only question left was whether he’ll have Smith-Njigba’s name sorted out the next time around.
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The frustrating part for the Pirates is what came next. After landing with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Santana found his footing almost immediately, putting together a 1.29 ERA and collecting saves in important spots, the sort of late-inning stability Pittsburgh could have used in a postseason push. It leaves the Pirates looking at a reliever whose turnaround arrived just as their own margin for error got tighter, another hard lesson in how quickly bullpen fortunes can swing. [Read more 🡒]
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The Pirates do have some coverage behind him if the outing goes sideways, with rookies Khristian Curtis and Antwone Kelly among the available arms along with middle relievers Carmen Mlodzinski and Yohan Ramrez. Still, the bigger question is how much the club can ask from a pitcher making his first start in the majors, especially in a park that tends to make every early mistake feel bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Just Lost A Young Starter At The Worst Possible Time
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Manager Don Kelly said Ashcraft will not pitch again in the 2026 season, even though tests have not shown any structural damage. For a club trying to piece together its rotation down the stretch, the Pirates are now set to turn to a bullpen game for their next start, leaving one of their most promising young arms unavailable at exactly the point when they could least afford it. [Read more 🡒]