Normally, you give a rose to someone you love, but in this column, I’m going to give love to a Rose. Chris Rose is the sole proprietor of NFL GameDay Highlights every Sunday on NFL Network. Rose does not have six other people on air with him, multiple sets with flashy graphics, huge screens, or other such technical bells and whistles.
It’s pretty much him, a script, and a desk. Yet the show is captivating, fun, and a terrific recap of the day’s NFL action.
NFL GameDay Highlights hits the airwaves after the late afternoon games and before the Sunday Night Football game on NBC. Rose’s humor, turns of phrase, and puns. Combined with his fast-paced style, make him a combo of ESPN’s Chris Berman and NFL RedZone’s Scott Hanson. This is his show. If it’s great, it’s on him. If not, guess what? It’s on him.
The latter is seldom the case. Rose flips through highlights like a speed reader flips through War and Peace. Every Sunday, he is on his game and has an energy level that goes into the red in a pleasant manner. Rose is a veteran of the sports television wars. He has been front and center on several networks and all different kinds of sports shows.
He co-hosted Intentional Talk on MLB Network and did play-by-play for BattleBots on ABC. Rose worked previously at FOX Sports and was one of the hosts of The Best Damn Sports Show Period on FOX Sports. He also hosted Million Dollar Challenge and FOX’s MLB coverage, among other tasks.
On NFL GameDay Highlights, Rose is an absolute maestro.
Finding Your Calling
In an age where most sports shows have several people handling different roles on air, Rose is a solitary figure, turning out football highlights like a short-order cook turns out burgers. I caught the program this past Sunday, November 9, and loved every second of it.
Rose approaches his role as host in a dual mode: he performs and informs. He understands the drama of football and also understands the pacing and timing of high-level highlight presentation. This is not a TV neophyte stumbling through highlights. Rose is a seasoned sportscasting veteran. He knows what he is doing and is an absolute expert at it.
Rose’s specialty is blending substance with style. As he’s narrating highlights, he’ll slip in where a player was picked in the draft. A former team, or a connection that he has to his opponent. He also has fun with names. In highlighting Patriot Stefon Diggs’ touchdowns throughout his career, he has always used the phrase, “Can you Diggs it?”
It kind of reminds me of the classic Berman SportsCenter highlights that put ESPN on the map. Rose is not derivative, however. He puts his own stamp on every highlight.
Speaking of Diggs, Rose’s recap of the Patriots at Buccaneers game this past Sunday was not a highlight — it was high art. When Pats QB Drake Maye hit rookie Kyle Williams with a 72-yard touchdown pass. Rose noted that it was the longest Patriots play in four years. When New England scored at the end of the first half and then at the beginning of the third quarter. Rose said that they “pulled a Belichick,” recalling that recurring action from the Patriots’ title-winning teams.
That third-quarter score was a 55-yard run by TreVeyon Henderson, and Rose commented that the rookie running back was running at a pace of 22 mph. The post-touchdown crowd shot caught a woman shouting, “Holy s**t!,” and Rose had a field day with this.
Later in the game, when Buccaneers wide receiver Tez Johnson did a cartwheel into a backflip after scoring a touchdown, Rose said, “I pulled 16 muscles just watching that highlight.” Rose also had a fun narration of Henderson’s fourth-quarter touchdown scamper. With about 1:30 left in the game, Henderson looked at the sidelines as he was running to see if Head Coach Mike Vrabel wanted him to score or just go down and let the Pats run out the clock.
Rose noted that Henderson is only the fourth rookie in NFL history with multiple 50+ yard touchdown runs in the same game. He closed the highlight saying that it was the Patriots’ seventh straight win, their best 10-game start (8-2) since 2019, and that they are now 4-0 against the NFC South this season.
Honestly, Rose’s Pats-Bucs highlight reel should be sent to Canton.
It was as close to perfection as you can get. Rose gets a lot of help from the NFL GameDay Highlights production staff. Following the highlight narration, video cut to a clip of Vrabel shaking hands with each Patriot player as they headed to the locker room. This was followed by press conference video of an angry Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Understanding The Moment
Later in the program, following Rose’s highlights of Falcons vs. Colts in Berlin. A graphic showed NFL running backs who have the most games with 200+ rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in their careers. Indy’s Jonathan Taylor is now tied with Derrick Henry, Adrian Peterson, and Jim Brown — all with two such games.
In addition to the graphics, I love the press conference sound and video of coaches’ comments to their respective teams in the locker room following victories.
With Rose and this crew, I can safely say that NFL GameDay Highlights is my favorite NFL show on the air right now. Rose’s ebullient élan explodes through the TV screen, but he knows when to temper his presentation as well. Prefacing highlights of the Browns at Jets game, Rose went to a near monotone level while video showed how the Jets honored Nick Mangold, the team’s legendary offensive lineman, who passed away on October 25 due to complications from kidney disease.
Rose ratcheted up again during Saints at Panthers highlights. Commenting on a throw from New Orleans’ 26-year-old rookie quarterback Tyler Shough. Rose spouted, “He’s got an arm, man. He might be like 43 years old or something, but the kid can throw it a little bit.” From those boisterous highlights, Rose once again lowered the decibel level, reporting news of the death of former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
Rose subtly detailed Tagliabue’s accomplishments and soberly led to a commercial break.
This is what a professional does, and Rose is the ultimate sportscasting professional. At the end of his highlight package on Rams at 49ers, Rose detailed that the Rams have won four straight games, all by 14-plus points.
Listen, I’ll be honest — I like survivors in the TV game. It’s a true test of fortitude out there, with career pitfalls at every turn. Rose is not only a survivor. He is a thriver who has carved his own niche in the crowded talent pool at NFL Network.
It’s fitting that Rose’s name is a flower because his performance week in and week out on NFL GameDay Highlights blooms with brightness and color. Highlight narration is a skill, and nobody is better at adding context and texture to this craft than Chris Rose.
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John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
Thank you for taking the time to give long awaited accolades to Chris Rose. As a true “sports widow”, I appreciate the Madden-style approach Chris Rose uses to recap what has happened and/or what’s to come. His information is witty, fast and easy to follow. I can actually converse with my husband on a relatively versed level. Your words of affirmation are spot on.