Why Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler are announcing Chiefs vs. Broncos in Week 18

The duo of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will be calling an NFL game instead of college football on Saturday for the Chiefs vs. Broncos game.

Fowler and Herbstreit often team up to announce college football games throughout the season. In the last week or so, they’ve called the College Football Playoff semifinal game between Michigan and Georgia, and the Rose Bowl between Ohio State and Utah. The duo will then call the College Football Playoff championship game in Indianapolis on Monday, Jan. 10.

This will be the second time that Fowler and Herbstreit will be calling an NFL game together. In the 2020 season, the pair called the Steelers vs. Giants game in Week 1 together.

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Why are Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit announcing Chiefs vs. Broncos?

On Dec. 14, 2021, ESPN announced Fowler and Herbstreit would be calling one of their Saturday doubleheader games in Week 18 for the NFL with Laura Rutledge reporting from the sidelines.

The first NFL game Fowler and Herbstreit worked together in 2020 was met with praise by a majority of fans. So, when another opportunity opened up for the college football duo to call an NFL game, ESPN offered the two the role.

The regular ESPN “Monday Night Football” crew made up of Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Louis Riddick, Lisa Salters and John Parry will work the second game on ESPN on Saturday between the Cowboys and Eagles. 

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Will Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit call any NFL playoff games?

Fowler and Herbstreit both work for ESPN announcing. The playoff games for this season are set to air on NBC, ABC, CBS and ESPN.

It is unknown whether or not Fowler and Herbstreit will call any playoff games this year. However, if ESPN only broadcasts one game, for example, then their normal announcing crew of Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Louis Riddick and Lisa Salters will most likely work the game.

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How long have Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit worked together?

Fowler and Herbstreit began calling football games together in 2014, working solely for college football matchups until they called their first NFL game in 2020. Since then, this is only their second NFL game they’ve worked together. They are best known for calling most of ABC’s Saturday night college football showcases.

The pair have worked simultaneously together for over 25 years, though. Fowler began his announcing career with ESPN back in 1988 while he worked as a sideline reporter for college football. In 1990, he began hosting College GameDay. Herbstreit joined ESPN in 1995 as a sideline reporter, only two years after his college football career at Ohio State ended. Herbstreit joined College GameDay in 1996.