Bobby Stroupe, Patrick Mahomes’ trainer, gave J.J. Watt a public pat on the back for his work alongside Jim Nantz on CBS’ call of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 28-24 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, even if the result in Denver went the wrong way for his star client.

Watt had plenty on his plate during the afternoon, from helping explain why the Chiefs’ signing of kicker Justin Tucker drew criticism to airing a gripe about how long the calls were taking.

Stroupe, though, wasn’t the only one who liked what he heard on Sunday.

Patrick Mahomes’ Trainer Backs J.J. Watt as CBS’ Lead Analyst

Watt is still breaking in his new title. CBS announced a multiyear agreement on Oct. 22 that made the former Houston Texans star its full-time lead NFL game analyst, the seat Tony Romo used to occupy, after Watt had handled the job on an interim basis this season.

His rise has come in three steps since 2023, when CBS brought him in as a studio analyst, with a move to the booth last season and a seat beside Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson on the lead crew this year.

Sunday’s AFC West game at Empower Field at Mile High was among his first in the permanent role, and Stroupe’s verdict came in six words: “Watt is great in the booth!”

Jim Nantz-J.J. Watt Booth Draws Praise in Week 8

Sunday was the Chiefs’ first game since they added Justin Tucker to their practice squad, a move that came with Harrison Butker having missed five of his 16 field goal attempts this season before Sunday.

Nantz didn’t tiptoe around it: “Just last year, (Justin) Tucker had to serve a 10-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. … Given the multitude of allegations of nonconsensual behavior, Tucker’s signing this week just drew a sharp rebuke in Kansas City.”

Tucker has called the accusations against him “unequivocally false.” They stem from The Baltimore Banner’s 2025 reporting, in which 16 massage therapists accused him of sexual misconduct in sessions between 2012 and 2016, while he was kicking for the Baltimore Ravens.

Baltimore cut him in May 2025, and the NFL’s 10-game ban came in June.

Watt added a detail about how the week had gone in Kansas City: “Andy Reid and the Chiefs organization at their weekly press conference spent at least half of it answering questions about it.”

Reid had addressed the move Wednesday: “He’s done his suspension. We try to do our homework the best way we possibly can and talk to a lot of people, make sure things are OK.”

That stretch of the broadcast is the one ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes singled out: “Appreciated Nantz and Watt explaining why the Tucker signing in KC was controversial. Took about 30 seconds and then kept it moving—it’s not rocket science.”

Where Kimes focused on the Tucker explanation, Jonathan Wier, a radio host at 98.1 KMBZ, zeroed in on how the new pairing works together, and brought the old one into it: “Nantz and Watt seem to have good chemistry. The key indicator is Nantz actually seems to listen to and respond when JJ talks. The last few years with Romo, he did not.”

Romo’s run at CBS formally ended earlier in October, months after he went on leave this summer and Watt took over the lead seat.

In the booth on Sunday, Watt also turned his attention to the officials and how long the calls were taking: “These guys have been taking their time all day with these calls. I’m just gonna say it. Like, let’s go. We gotta get the calls. I want to get it right. I absolutely want to. But, I mean, this is a long time.”

The kicking question behind the Tucker signing didn’t stay in the background for long, either.

Butker missed a field goal at the end of an 11-play fourth-quarter drive with Kansas City up 24-21, and Denver went ahead for good on its next possession.

Tucker remains on the practice squad after Butker’s miss, so the subject Nantz and Watt took on in Denver isn’t going anywhere, and neither is Watt, whose multiyear deal keeps him beside Nantz in CBS’ lead booth.