Al Michaels incorrectly called a fumble on the New England Patriots during their matchup with the Chicago Bears, despite the ball never actually coming loose.

Michaels returned to the Prime booth alongside Kirk Herbstreit for the Thursday Night Football showdown between the Patriots and Bears - two 4-2 teams - at Soldier Field. The 81-year-old is frequently ridiculed online for either misidentifying players or lacking the energy of other broadcasters, with fans increasingly calling for his retirement.

Michaels has worked in sports television since 1971 and has been calling NFL games since 1986. He served as the voice of Monday Night Football on ABC from 1986 to 2005, before moving to NBC's Sunday Night Football in 2006 - but it didn't take long on Thursday night for fans to once again demand that Michaels be let go.

Midway through the first quarter, with the Bears leading 3-0, Drake Maye handed the ball off to running back Corey Kiner. He juked past linebacker D'Marco Jackson and ran directly into a heavy hit from defensive tackle Kentavius Street.

As both teams converged around Kiner - the Patriots pushing him forward for extra yards while the Bears attempted to drag him down - Michaels became confused and made an erroneous call. He declared that Kiner had fumbled, yet the 24-year-old never lost possession of the ball. "And the ball comes out," Michaels said. "The ball comes out this time from Corey Kiner."

There was just one problem: there was no fumble. Fans were quick to highlight the error. One user wrote: "Did Al Michaels just hallucinate a fumble?"

"He sure did," replied an exasperated viewer.

Another account was less restrained, posting: "AL MICHAELS HAS COMPLETELY LOST IT... There was no fumble. Not even close to being a fumble."

"Al Michaels seeing ghost fumbles now," posted another fan.

Despite being a widely respected voice in the sport, Michaels has faced mounting pressure to step away from broadcasting following a series of apparent blunders that seem to occur with increasing regularity.

He originally announced plans to retire in 2021, but opted to join Amazon after the company agreed to pay a lucrative $1 billion annually for the rights to stream games.

Although his three-year deal with Amazon concluded after the 2024 season, Michaels remains on a rolling contract despite ongoing criticism from fans. However, the streaming giant is already laying the groundwork to find his replacement, with Ian Eagle considered among the finest in the business - though luring him away from CBS may prove to be no easy feat.