CBS and NFL Network drew a combined 10.4 overnight rating for the Packers' 42-10 win over the Vikings on Thursday night against competition from two ALDS telecasts on TBS and the Arizona-Oregon college football game on ESPN. The 10.3 is below last week's 11.2 rating for Giants-Redskins, but well above the 8.5 earned by Buccaneers-Falcons in Week 3. Steelers-Ravens from Week 2 is still the best-rated "TNF" game this season to date with a 13.7 overnight. The Vikings-Packers game last night drew a combined 47.1 local rating in Milwaukee and a 33.3 rating in Minneapolis-St. Paul (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
MUST-FLEE TV? In Atlanta, Steve Hummer wrote the NFL this season had had an "inordinate number of Grade A, all-natural, made-in-the-USA stinkers." The primetime games, the "marquee events supposedly, have been singularly one-sided." Of the 13 that aired before Vikings-Packers, eight "have been decided by 18 points or more" (AJC.com, 10/2). ESPN's Bomani Jones said, "You can't say that Thursday night football is a problem for the league necessarily when they keep raking in all this money and all these people are watching these games. But when's the last time you watched a Thursday night football game that was worth a damn?" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN2, 10/2). Meanwhile, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith called Thursday night games a "waste of time." He said, "I know there are a lot of folks that love the NFL. We look forward to the games, but Sunday is practically a religion. The game is meant to be played on Sunday and Monday nights. I have always been an advisory opponent of the games being played on Thursdays because I really believe it’s a egregious on the part of some of these players. Some of these guys simply aren’t ready." More Smith: "It's good for the business of the NFL, because obviously you have a television contract that is facilitating you having that to begin with. We understand that why the NFL did that -- because they’re greedy and all about the money" ("First Take," ESPN2, 10/3).
