\u201cHere\u2019s a guy that\u2019s 6-5, 218 pounds, red zone threat,\u201d Collinsworth said before the snap. \u201cThrow it up, give him a chance going against one of these smaller corners.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n Chris Matthews (No. 13) had zero catches and only 29 offensive snaps in his career, including playoffs, before having 109 receiving yards and a touchdown in Super Bowl XLIX. (Tom Pennington \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n The Matthews episode underscores the mindset Collinsworth and Tirico will take into next week\u2019s game: You can never be too prepared.<\/p>\n Two days before the Super Bowl, for example, players from De La Salle High School in the East Bay will be at Levi\u2019s Stadium for a game rehearsal. Decked out in their uniforms, the players will simulate pregame introductions and run plays on the field so the NBC crew can get a sense of the camera positions and the angles of the late-afternoon sun at Levi\u2019s Stadium.<\/p>\n Tirico, Collinsworth and the \u201cSunday Night Football\u201d crew also had a practice run of sorts last month during the Week 17 Bears-49ers game at Levi\u2019s<\/a>. Rules analyst Terry McAulay, who normally watches games from NBC\u2019s studio in Connecticut, was in the booth that evening just like he\u2019ll be on Feb. 8. The crew also tested some of the gadgets \u2014 for example, a wind meter \u2014 that they\u2019ll have available for the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n The Athletic was invited to sit in on NBC\u2019s graphics meeting the morning of the Week 17 game and to watch Tirico, 59, and Collinsworth, 67, rehearse their broadcast intro in the booth 35 minutes before kickoff.<\/p>\n One thing that stood out during the booth visit was the sheer amount of technology and information at their fingertips. Collinsworth had nine devices \u2014 monitors, screens, tablets, telestrator \u2014 in his immediate orbit. Tirico, who sits immediately to his left, had a similar array. It was like they were in the cockpit of a combat helicopter. Scores, statistics, background information and replay views from various angles were within easy reach.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a far cry from when Collinsworth, a Cincinnati Bengals receiver from 1981 to \u201988, first entered the booth. In those days, he had a telestrator and a physical board on which he\u2019d scribble notes and stats he could consult during the game.<\/p>\n The process began to change in 1992 when he met Freeland, who was working for a small, Cincinnati-based computer company at the time. The company was shooting its first-ever commercial and asked the ex-Bengals star to be in it.<\/p>\n \u201cSo Cris came in and sort of toured the facility,\u201d Freeland recalled. \u201cAnd me being the sports nut I am, I went up to him and sort of showed him around and started talking to him.\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t a one-way conversation. Collinsworth was interested in what Freeland did \u2014 \u201cI was a technician. I guess you\u2019d call it a network engineer,\u201d Freeland said \u2014 and the encounter ended with Freeland agreeing to create a rudimentary database on which Collinsworth could keep his notes in order. Soon after that, he hired Freeland part-time to help gather information he could use on air.<\/p>\n The internet hadn\u2019t yet taken off back then, and Freeland pulled most of the facts and figures from media guides. When everyone began going online a few years later, the data exploded.<\/p>\n Collinsworth, who will be calling his sixth Super Bowl next week, embraced the change.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s incredibly patient with technology,\u201d Freeland said. \u201cHe\u2019s not out there writing programs or setting up networks or anything, but he loves the technology. He loves what it can do, and he\u2019s very patient in learning it.\u201d<\/p>\n The information load took another leap in 2006 when football analytics groups like Pro Football Focus started popping up. That was good news for Freeland. There was now so much data to gather that Collinsworth hired him full-time. Collinsworth became so captivated by the new information that he bought a majority share in PFF in 2014 and is currently the company\u2019s chairman.<\/p>\n Collinsworth loves to sift through the granular data but knows he can\u2019t drown viewers in numbers, especially during a Super Bowl when so many casual viewers are tuning in. He pictured a mom, dad, son, daughter and grandmother watching the big game in the family living room.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if I\u2019m going on about 3.7 yards per carry against a Cover 2 defense, Grandma\u2019s going, \u2018Gimme the remote!\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where Tirico comes in.<\/p>\n Next week\u2019s game will be his first Super Bowl. But the versatile broadcaster is a veteran of the Olympics \u2014 he\u2019ll be flying to Italy, home of the upcoming Winter Games, immediately after Seahawks-Patriots \u2014 during which compelling stories, not stats, are king.<\/p>\n The Super Bowl audience is similar, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s people who have consumed all the content for two weeks and people who are waiting for Bad Bunny,\u201d Tirico said. \u201cSo you\u2019re merging eight lanes of traffic onto this narrow balance beam. It\u2019s a little bit of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Collinsworth and Tirico have been full-time SNF partners since 2022. During a half-hour interview the morning of the Bears-49ers game, they alternately poked each other and lobbed compliments in each other\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not afraid to answer any question,\u201d Tirico said. \u201cI\u2019ve worked with people you have to be very specific with. \u2018What exactly are you going to ask them? Well, be very careful.\u2019 Cris is so knowledgeable and quick on his feet that you could ask him anything, and he\u2019s going to give you an honest answer.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-462639236-scaled.jpg\")
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