NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” is often the highest-rated show on television, and the build-up to the game before kickoff more or less marks the start of the show, which was evident when Sunday night’s broadcast skipped the national anthem.
… For one week, the NFL is commemorating its Salute To Service campaign.
…Three days until Veterans Day.
…Before a game played at Soldier Field in Chicago.
FOX SPORTS HONORED THE MILITARY AHEAD OF VETERANS DAY WITH TWO-DAY SALUE DURING COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND NFL COVERAGE
The Soul Rebels perform the American national anthem before an NFL football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints in Saint-Denis, near Paris, Sunday, October 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Luciano)
Talk about missing the plot.
The entire audience saw after NBC did its introductory speech in the booth between analyst Cris Collinsworth and play-by-play man Noah Eagle, a pregame interview with Bears quarterback Caleb Williams before viewers saw an aerial view of the field during which flag bearers carried a folded, field-sized American flag down one of the stadium’s tunnels.
NBC’S MIKE TIRICO SIDELINED BY HEALTH QUESTION BEFORE BEAR VS. BOUCCANEERS ON SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Salute service signage during pregame warmups between the Carolina Panthers and the Kansas City Chiefs at Bank of America Stadium. (Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images)
OutKick contacted NBC Executive Vice President of Communications Greg Hughes and Senior Vice President of Communications Chris McCloskey to ask why the national anthem was omitted from the broadcast.
Neither executive had responded at the time of publication.
NBC covered the trade of defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to the Bears. He played the “show anthem” featuring Carrie Underwood.
Viewers, meanwhile, apparently noticed the absence of “The Star-Spangled Banner” — at least some on social media.
The decision to play the national anthem is generally not made by the NFL. This is not a club decision. It’s a network decision.
So this is apparently an editorial decision by NBC.
It should be noted that this is not the first misstep of the national anthem before a Bears game this season.
Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears stands on the sideline during the national anthem before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois on September 20, 2026. (Getty Images)
CALEB WILLIAMS, LIMITED BY INJURY TO THE CICISJANCIERS, SEEN WITH CLEARANCE ON THE BEARS SIDELINE DURING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
On September 28, the Bears organized a Mariachi Herencia from Mexico City to perform the national anthem on ESPN/ABC’s Monday Night Football broadcast.
The Chicago-based group performed a mariachi instrumental version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” as part of the “Vamos Bears” celebration of Bears’ Hispanic Heritage Month.
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This received mixed reactions.
What didn’t draw mixed reactions was that injured Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was shown pacing along the sideline while the anthem was played.
Maybe NBC just wanted to avoid any possibility of offending anyone by not airing the national anthem altogether.
It didn’t work.
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