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Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, and Michael Strahan have teamed up on the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show for years. Their knowledge of the game is second to none, and the three Pro Football Hall of Famers effortlessly banter back and forth about the day’s stories, entertaining football fans each Sunday during the season.

On the final regular-season Sunday of the year, Terry Bradshaw made a memorable mark in the most memorable of NFL seasons when he offered up an analogy on the Baltimore Ravens and in the process shockingly accused both of his Fox teammates of using steroids during their playing days.

2020 Baltimore Ravens season has had its ups and downs

The Baltimore Ravens started the 2020 NFL season with a couple of wins and then suffered their first defeat at home to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, 34-20, in late September. 

However, in 2020, the play on the field was just part of the story. A worldwide pandemic wreaked havoc all season on the NFL, and the Ravens were one of several teams dramatically affected. 

The team placed a total of 23 players on the reserve/COVID-19 list from Nov. 23 to Dec. 2, including reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, who tested positive on Thanksgiving. The team outbreak resulted in multiple postponement of Ravens’ games with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys. 

The team lost consecutive games during the outbreak but have reeled off four straight and have a 10-5 record heading into the final regular-season game. 

Terry Bradshaw accuses Howie Long and Michael Strahan of using steroids 

Terry Bradshaw accused Howie Long and Michael Strahan
Terry Bradshaw accused Howie Long and Michael Strahan of using steroids during Fox pregame show and later apologized. | Photo by Mark Cunningham/Detroit Lions/Getty Images

In the final week of the 2020 NFL regular season, Terry Bradshaw was tasked with talking about the Baltimore Ravens and how dangerous a team they are heading into the postseason. But before he talked about the Ravens, he made several interesting analogies, including one that astonishingly threw Howie Long and Michael Strahan under the bus.

“There are some things in life you just don’t want to face,” Bradshaw began. “Number one, I don’t want to go fishing with Jimmy Johnson, and Jimmy Johnson takes his shirt off. I don’t want to see Howie, when Howie and Michael used to juice, take those steroids.”

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Fox NFL Sunday host Curt Menefee quickly bellowed off camera in the background. The cameras flashed to Long laughing it off, followed by Strahan trying to do the same. However, the former New York Giants’ superstar defensive lineman’s gap-toothed smile was less convincing and clearly showed he wasn’t expecting those comments.

Bradshaw tried to continue with his rant, but Long interrupted. 

“Wait, wait, wait!” the former Raiders great interjected. 

“I’m not through. I’m not through,” Bradshaw plowed on. 

“You have us mixed up with the team that you played with,” Long fired back. “Exactly!” Strahan could be heard echoing off-camera in the background. 

“I don’t want to see those guys coming at me,” Bradshaw continued. “I don’t want to see a divorce lawyer come knocking on my door. And if you’re in the NFL, you don’t want to see the Ravens because no team is going to be harder to beat once they beat Cincinnati today.”

Terry Bradshaw apologizes about steroid comment and then makes surprising remarks about Mitch Trubisky

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Later in the show, Terry Bradshaw went off script and apologized to both Howie Long and Michael Strahan for his previous remarks, which he acknowledged miss their mark.

“Before we go any further with this, I’m always on this show trying to make funny and have people have a good time,” Bradshaw said with a much more serious demeanor. “Today, I talked about steroids with two guys that I love. And I just want America to know that I’m sorry. I wish I hadn’t. I feel bad that I said that because I know that neither one of you did and I just feel better that I say it in front of our audience. Now, enough of that.”

Immediately following his apology, Bradshaw offered his thoughts on Chicago quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and how impressed he’s been by the fourth-year quarterback’s performance in recent weeks.

“I want to talk about Mitchell Trubisky. Here’s a guy, if you look at him, who has been written off, cast away. The coach, we’ve heard, doesn’t like him. Ownership wants him out of the building. But let me tell you something. When you average 35 points a game your last four games, which he has done. And you play flawless football. Sometimes benching, insults, ridicule, and you get that next opportunity, wakes a person up.”

– Terry Bradshaw on Mitchell trubiskY

Trubisky has been better by Mitchell Trubisky standards in recent weeks, but hardly flawless. In the last month, the Bears have gone 3-1. Trubisky has averaged 250 yards through the air and thrown for seven touchdowns and two interceptions. 

Terry Bradshaw’s takes have missed their mark more than a few times this season. But none of them were more egregious than his comments on Long and Strahan. We’ll just have to chalk it up to 2020 providing us with one final gift. A gift that Long and Strahan will gladly dispose of like they used to do with NFL quarterbacks.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.