Mike Tirico to replace Al Michaels for four NFL games on NBC

Mike Tirico will replace Al Michaels in the NBC booth for four games over the remainder of the NFL season.

NBC announced Wednesday that Tirico will handle play-by-play for the Green Bay Packers-Washington Redskins game on Sunday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers-Indianapolis Colts contest on Thanksgiving night and the Kansas City Chiefs-Denver Broncos tilt the following Sunday night, plus a Thursday night, Dec. 22 game between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.

The changes are a reversal of an earlier NFL edict that only Michaels and analyst Cris Collinsworth would call all of the NBC-televised games.

The 49-year-old Tirico spent 25 years at ESPN and had called "Monday Night Football" games for the network since 2006 before he joined NBC on July 1.

Michaels, 72, saw his workload jump as NBC acquired five Thursday night games in February as part of a 10-game deal it splits with CBS.

"Once we added TNF, we always planned to give Al a chance to recharge to help him maintain his standard as one of the all-time greats. This week was the ideal time due to travel," Fred Gaudelli, executive producer of NBC's NFL telecasts, said in a statement. "With Mike the voice of 'Monday Night Football' for the last 10 years, we are fortunate to have two exceptional NFL play-by-play voices."

Tirico also will join Doug Flutie to call a game between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets on Saturday, Dec. 17, and a Christmas Day tilt between the Baltimore Ravens and the Steelers. Both of those games will be televised by the NFL Network.

Michaels and Collinsworth will call NBC's Thursday night game between the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints this week.

"With the additional games on our schedule this season, it's nice to have a bye week," Michaels said in a statement issued by NBC. "We're lucky to have someone of Mike's caliber to step in with Cris, (sideline reporter) Michele (Tafoya) and the rest of the team."