NBC issues on-air mea culpa after misidentifying random woman as Matthew Stafford's wife Kelly

Matthew Stafford played his first game with the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

His wife, Kelly Stafford was in attendance for the game. The NBC "Sunday Night Football" broadcast decided to break out the classic "wife watching her husband on the field" shot in the second quarter.

The woman they chose for the shot was not Kelly Stafford.

To be fair to NBC, that woman, like Kelly, has blonde hair and seemed to be rooting for the Rams.

On the other hand, Kelly Stafford should be fairly recognizable at this point given how much she has been in the news over the past few years, from her recovery from a brain tumor, criticism of COVID-19 safety protocols, commentary on divisive issues and charitable contributions.

NBC appeared to quickly realize its mistake, possibly aided by a litany of Twitter users pointing out its mistake. The broadcast soon found the actual Kelly Stafford in a suite at SoFi Stadium, with play-by-play announcer Al Michaels explaining a mistake had been made.

"You know, we go at warp speed here," Michaels said. "When Matthew looks at the tape of this game and goes 'What? That's not my wife.' We had somebody else on beforehand. Close."

The mixup was one of the few mistakes that could be associated with Stafford in the first half, as he opened the game 10-for-13 with 151 passing yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.