Sunday Night Football is underway between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings, but longtime sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya isn’t on the air.
Tafoya, a veteran of the sports reporting game, is off tonight, as previously reported by the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand.
The three games that Tafoya has taken off were not coincidentally bad-weather sites of Baltimore, Seattle and Green Bay. She will also miss Jan. 2 in Green Bay. While SNF is only 18-plus weeks, it has allowed her to be at home on these weekends.
NBC has not decided on Tafoya’s replacement, but Kathryn Tappen is the clear leading candidate. Tappen has been on the sideline when Tafoya has been off.
Tafoya will be leaving NBC’s Sunday Night Football for good following the season.
Michele Tafoya is off tonight, as detailed here.https://t.co/4UYQT16wuV
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) January 3, 2022
While Tafoya’s absence had been previously reported, fans are still surprised to see so much of a schedule shakeup this year.
Al Michaels is off tonight, as well.
“How many games has Al Michaels missed this year? And Michelle Tafoya taking off another week. This Sunday Night Football season has been wild,” one fan tweeted.
Tafoya has been a very familiar face for NFL fans over the years. No other sideline reporter has worked as many primetime games as her.
NBC Sports PR says this Sunday’s game between the Cowboys and WFT will be Michelle Tafoya 300th NFL regular-season game as s sideline reporter – a primetime NFL record.
Teams she’s had the most:
Dallas Cowboys: 45
Green Bay Packers: 42
New England Patriots: 37— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) December 22, 2021
Tafoya’s final game of her NFL sideline reporting career will be the Super Bowl in Los Angeles. Hopefully it’s a good one.
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