Usually injuries on NFL broadcasts happen on the football field, but on Sunday, a more unusual one happened.
During their call of the Bills’ win over the Raiders, Jim Nantz and JJ Watt discussed the strategy players deploy when defenders try the “Peanut Punch.”
Watt demonstrated how players guard the ball and asked Nantz to try to punch it out.
“Jim, go ahead, give it a good punch,” Watt encouraged. “Hard as you got, brother.”
Nantz went on to punch the ball with a force that even surprised Watt.
“I didn’t think you were going to go that hard!” Watt exclaimed with a laugh. “That was so much harder than I thought you were going to go. But the ball stayed.” Nantz, who immediately grimaced and began messaging his hand, joked that he felt like he broke his wrist as the game resumed.
“Give Jim some ice,” Watt continued. “Really,” Nantz added.
Watt explained how ball carriers have added a new layer of protection from defenders punching the ball out by locking their wrist to hold the ball against them securely.
When the broadcast returned for the second half, it appeared Nantz might have actually hurt himself, as his hand was wrapped with ice. Nantz and Watt did not directly address the situation further on the broadcast. When Watt, possibly unintentionally, said “We want to see who throws the first punch,” Nantz laughed before making reference to the physicality of the first half.
Watt joined Nantz as his broadcast partner on CBS’s top NFL team for the 2026 season after CBS officially parted ways with former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who was arrested in Wisconsin for operating a vehicle while intoxicated over the summer.
