Cris Collinsworth fumbles telestrator pen during Bengals-Ravens broadcast: ‘He didn’t mean to throw it’

NBC announcer Cris Collinsworth only fumbled the ball nine times during his eight-year career with the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1980s but on Sunday night he lost something equally important to his craft – his telestrator pen.

At the end of the third quarter between the Bengals and Baltimore Ravens, play-by-play commentator Mike Tirico was heard asking fans for the former wide receiver’s tool back.

“Hey down there! Can you get me Cris’ pen that he threw? I’ll get to it during the break,” Tirico said.

When the broadcast returned from commercial, Collinsworth said he thought the pen had landed in the hair of a fan who was sitting directly below the two broadcasters.

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“He didn’t mean to throw it,” Tirico said. “But if we can get it back, that would be great. We got a long season to go.”

Collinsworth played for the Bengals from 1981 to 1988. He was a three-time Pro Bowler at his position.

He had 417 catches for 6,698 yards and 36 touchdowns before calling it quits. He was second in voting for Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1981, losing the award to New Orleans Saints running back George Rogers.

Collinsworth broadcasted for several different networks during his career before settling into his role on NBC along side Al Michaels in 2009. He took the seat left by John Madden.