Chris “Mad Dog” Russo refused to give Tony Romo a pass for his mistake during CBS’s broadcast of the Chiefs-Bills game on Sunday — and his ESPN counterparts didn’t want to hear it.
On a third-and-7 play early in the first quarter, Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw a perfectly placed ball to receiver Amari Cooper near the sideline for a long gain.
After the play, Romo gave a ton of credit for Buffalo bringing Cooper in.
He just was wrong about when it happened.
“This is the game-changer,” Romo said of Cooper who was acquired from the Browns in October before the trade deadline. “Great job by [GM] Brandon Beane in the offseason to go out and get a No. 1 player.”
Romo would go on to add that a No. 1 receiver was something people believed Buffalo needed after it traded Stefon Diggs to the Texans in April.
Russo, during his Wednesday appearance on ESPN’s “First Take,” roasted Romo over the error.
“Somebody tell my buddy Tony Romo, Tony they did not, Buffalo, get Amari Cooper in the offseason!” a fired-up Russo said. “They got him eight days ago! Tony said what a great move by the GM to make the offseason trade to get him. They didn’t get Amari Cooper in July! They got him a week ago at the deadline! He’s doing the damn game! You can’t make that mistake! This is national TV football.”
Cooper joined the team earlier than Russo recalled, as the Bill received him and a 2025 sixth-round draft pick for a 2025 third-round pick and a seventh-round selection in 2026 in mid-October.
Russo’s ESPN counterparts were having none of his Romo hate as Molly Qerim, Kimberley A. Martin and Stephen A. Smith all pushed back.
“The fact that you fact-checked that guy like you haven’t made a mistake on TV before. That is foul,” Qerim said.
Martin added: “You made a lot of mistakes today buddy.”
Smith didn’t hold back.
“I have warned you about calling out your contemporaries like that,” Smith said. “Tony Romo is an outstanding analyst you don’t have to nitpick against him. You go on TV and Mad Dog Radio every day and mess up names and all of this other stuff. You make a whole bunch of errors, nobody’s calling you out. You shouldn’t do that. You need to be nice to him.”
Cooper is off to a slow start for the AFC East leader with seven catches on 10 targets for 127 yards and a touchdown in three games.
His contributions this weekend — two catches for 55 yards — did help the Bills hand the rival Chiefs their first loss of the season, 30-21.
Cooper should have plenty of more chances to help the Bills, who are a legit Super Bowl contender.