ESPN drew an 8.7 overnight rating for the Giants' 31-24 win over the Dolphins on "MNF," down 3% from a 9.0 for the Packers' 43-37 win over the Falcons in Week 14 last year. Last night's game peaked with a 9.8 rating from 9:45-10:00pm ET. Giants-Dolphins drew a 16.3 local rating in N.Y., (8.0 on ESPN, 8.2 on WABC-ABC) and a 15.7 in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (6.5 on ESPN, 9.2 on WFOR-CBS). Giants-Dolphins also had 464,000 unique viewers on WatchESPN (Josh Carpenter, Assistant Editor).
FLEX APPEAL: The NFL has flexed the Week 16 Giants-Vikings game to "SNF," replacing Steelers-Ravens, which was moved to the 1:00pm ET window on CBS. Jaguars-Saints, originally scheduled for 1:00pm on CBS, will move to the 4:05pm window (NFL).
GOING UNDER THE HOOD: In Buffalo, Alan Pergament noted CBS announcers Spero Dedes and Solomon Wilcots on Sunday were "along for the ride" for their sixth Bills game this season against the Eagles. They have "gotten plenty of criticism," but the time they have spent with the Bills "made them the proper choice" by CBS for the game. It was "no surprise that the all the preparation from past Bills games helped Dedes and Wilcots have their best game all season addressing key issues." This "isn’t to suggest they were perfect." Pergament: "Far from it. Wilcots forgot what down it was on one play" (BUFFALO NEWS, 12/14).
