CBS and NFL Network drew a combined 13.6 overnight rating for the Broncos’ 35-21 “Thursday Night Football” win over the Chargers, the second-best “TNF” overnight of the season behind Steelers-Ravens (13.7) in Week 2. That game came just days after the Ray Rice elevator video was made public and his subsequent release, which likely played a role in that number. The overnight for Chargers-Broncos is up 17% from an 11.6 for last week’s Jets-Patriots “TNF” matchup, which had competition from Giants-Cardinals NLCS Game 5 on FS1. Thursday’s NFL game peaked at a 14.1 rating from 10:30-11:00pm ET, and earned CBS a win in primetime among broadcast networks. Next week’s Saints-Panthers “TNF” game airs exclusively on NFL Network (Josh Carpenter, Staff Writer). In San Diego, Tom Krasovic writes behaving “like the games themselves are foremost in importance … is the next step CBS needs to take” when broadcasting the Thursday night package. Krasovic: “Don't give us graphics at the expense of showing the action or helpful replays. Spare us navel shots of cheerleaders seconds before the snap. Let us see how the defense and offense are lined up. If something interesting or fuzzy happens, give us a replay.” CBS “failed on all those counts” at the start of the game. The broadcast “improved, but the first quarter-plus was choppy” (UTSANDIEGO.com, 10/24).
