NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” drew plenty of attention in Week 9 of the 2026 NFL season, but not just for the finish between the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Chicago came away with a 27-24 win in a game that went down to the final seconds, pushing the Bears to 7-2 while the Bucs fell to 3-6. The matchup itself had plenty of defensive drama, with Baker Mayfield intercepted twice and Caleb Williams picked off four times. But the pregame coverage sparked a separate wave of backlash after NBC did not show the national anthem before kickoff.
Fox News reported Monday that the anthem was skipped despite it being Veterans Day Week and Soldier Field serving as the venue. Instead, viewers saw NBC’s booth introduction with Cris Collinsworth and Noah Eagle, followed by a pregame interview with Caleb Williams and then an aerial shot of the field as flag bearers carried a folded field-sized American flag back into one of the stadium’s tunnels.
That decision set off a strong reaction on social media, including from people identifying themselves as veterans. “Why doesn’t NBC show the National Anthem!? It’s Sunday night Football,” one user wrote.
Another posted, “I’m waiting for NBC to release a statement.. I’m 69 years old so please don’t take too long 😴What a disgrace to our VETERANS AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” while another said, “Is the NFL taking their lead from the classless wnba?
The next thing you know both teams will have to run off the field into the tunnels before the national anthem starts. S-t entertainment,” another wrote.
The criticism kept coming. “It’s an insult to American Veteran,” one comment read.
“I am a US veteran and if I had known that they did not play the national anthem, I would have turned it off because it’s a slap in the face NBC! Well you have offended the people who this was supposed to be dedicated to!!!”
another person wrote.
NBC has not responded to the complaints as of writing.
In Other News...
Baker Mayfields Turnover Night Made This Bears Loss Sting Even More
Caleb Williams and Baker Mayfield turned a Bears-Buccaneers matchup into a turnover-heavy afternoon, with the two quarterbacks combining for six interceptions in a game that still somehow stayed tight all the way through. Chicago and Tampa Bay traded mistakes, but the Bears were able to keep enough of their footing to leave with a narrow victory in a game that never felt clean for either offense.
Mayfields rough night only added to the frustration for Tampa Bay, especially because the Buccaneers had chances to make the Bears pay for their own errors. Instead, the turnovers kept swinging the momentum back and forth, and Chicago did just enough in the closing stretch to survive the chaos and finish off the win. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Wasted A Rare Edge And Now The Offense Is Under Fire
The Buccaneers came out of Chicago with a loss they could not afford, falling 27-24 to the Bears and slipping to 3-6 despite a defense that repeatedly handed them chances to take control. Tampa Bay forced five turnovers and still managed only 10 points off those takeaways, a wasted edge that made the afternoon feel like a missed opportunity from the opening quarter onward.
Bucky Irving gave the Bucs a spark with two touchdowns in his hometown, and Jamel McCollum added two interceptions as part of a defense that did its job and then some. The problem was everything around it, from an offense that never fully cashed in to the decisions that left points on the table, leaving Todd Bowles and Zac Robinson facing a familiar kind of scrutiny as the season keeps slipping away. [Read more 🡒]
Todd Bowles Just Put Tampa Bays Biggest Problem In Focus
The Buccaneers left Chicago with a familiar kind of frustration, one that made Todd Bowles postgame message hard to miss. Tampa Bays defense did its part by creating extra chances, but the offense could not turn those takeaways into enough points, and the result was a loss that felt like a missed opportunity more than a simple setback. Bowles made clear afterward that the issue was not on the defensive side, where the unit continues to give the team a chance to win.
Baker Mayfields two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, only sharpened the concern around an offense that has not matched the standard set by the defense. The Buccaneers now head into their bye week with a problem that is easy to identify and harder to fix, because the talent is there but the execution has not been. For a team trying to stay in the race, the next stretch is less about what the defense can do and more about whether the offense can finally meet it halfway. [Read more 🡒]