It took one play in the Bills-Chiefs AFC Divisional-Round game for Chris Russo to lose his patience with Tony Romo.
On the first play from scrimmage, Josh Allen threw a pass to Stefon Diggs that the receiver fumbled before tight end Dalton Kincaid swatted it out of bounds.
Romo, CBS’ lead NFL analyst, referenced Franco Harris while dissecting Kincaid’s move, which was a 10-yard penalty for an illegal bat because the ball was swatted forward.
“I know he makes $17 million and everyone gets a kick out of him, I’ve had enough. Tony, our little pal, Romo…” Russo said on “First Take” before dissecting two of the more famous plays in NFL history and where Romo went wrong.
Russo, 64, furiously explained that Romo, 43, accidentally referenced the Immaculate Reception — where Harris caught a pass off the helmet of Raiders safety Jack Tatum to score a touchdown in the final seconds of a 13-7 Steelers win in the 1972 AFC Divisional Round.
Russo then broke down the Holy Roller — a play that much more closely resembles what Kincaid did.
“He needs a history lesson, call me,” Russo said of Romo.
On that play, Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler — trailing the Chargers in final seconds of each team’s 1978 regular season opener — fumbled the ball at San Diego’s 24-yard line.
The ball was then knocked forward (or thrown, depending on which fans you are talking to) by running Pete Banaszak before tight end Dave Casper bumbled with the ball, eventually falling on it in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
Russo then implored Romo’s partner, CBS play-by-play man Jim Nantz, to be more vocal.
“That is awful, awful, awful, awful. Nantz, say something!” Russo said to wrap up the first of several grievances that have become a viral focal point of the ESPN show each Wednesday.
Chargers fans referred to the play as the Immaculate Deception.
After that season the NFL made a rule that only the offensive player who fumbled the ball could advance after two-minute warning before halftime and at the end of the game.
Romo signed a 10-year, $180 million contract with CBS in February 2020, The Post’s Andrew Marchand reported.
The former Cowboys quarterback has since faced increase criticism for his performance.
Marchand reported that CBS executives met with Romo after last season to discuss how he could improve.
“At first, they’d mostly tell me how much they love to listen to me and all these positives, so it’s fun,” Romo told BroBible of the the criticism last year. “When you’re young and you come out and you’re good, then you’re dealing with more expectations. You find out some people don’t like you and some people want you to do things differently and do this and that instead. You’ve gotta stay true to who you are. You can’t please everyone. I know that because the number of people who come up to me has quadrupled since the first two or three years.”
Romo and Nantz will be on the call for CBS on Sunday’s AFC Championship game between the Chiefs and Ravens, as well as for Super Bowl 2024 on Feb. 11.
Russo will be watching.
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