NFL Week 7 Overnights: CBS' Jets-Pats Tops Sunday, But Down From Late Window In '11

CBS earned a 16.2 overnight Nielsen rating for Jets-Patriots yesterday, which was shown in 92% of U.S. markets. Despite the telecast bleeding into primetime and only two games in that late afternoon window, the overnight was down slightly from a 16.3 rating for the comparable window on Fox in Week 7 last year, which featured the still-undefeated Packers taking on the Vikings in 83% of markets. CBS’ national window peaked at a 21.1 rating in the 7:30pm ET half-hour as the game was in overtime. The net also saw a decline for its regional coverage in the early window, down 29% from Fox' regional coverage last year. Meanwhile, NBC earned an 11.7 overnight for the Steelers-Bengals “SNF” last night, up 43% from the comparable Colts-Saints matchup in Week 7 last year. The game peaked at a 12.2 rating in the 10:30pm window. In Cincinnati, the game earned a 33.5 local rating, while in Pittsburgh, the game earned a 43.9 rating. Fox also saw an uptick for the Week 7 singleheader telecast in the early window, up 20.8% from last year (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).

GETTING TONGUE TIED: During overtime of the Jets-Patriots game yesterday afternoon, CBS’ Jim Nantz incorrectly noted the Jets had won the game during a replay review of the game's final play. Jets QB Mark Sanchez was sacked, and the ensuing fumble was recovered by Patriots DL Rob Ninkovich to end the game. While the play was being reviewed, Nantz said, “This is, if it holds up which we expect it will, is going to be a stunner, the biggest underdog of the day in the league.” After the referee confirmed the play was a fumble by the Jets recovered by the Patriots, Nantz said, “The New York Jets stand alone in first place now. The New England Patriots, I should say, at 4 and 3, what an amazing game here. … The Jets put up an incredible fight” (“Jets-Patriots,” CBS, 10/21).

STRAIGHT SHOOTER: In Milwaukee, Bob Wolfley wrote "anyone who claims they heard bias” in Fox color analyst Brian Billick's call of yesterday's Packers-Rams game “really must have watched the game with the sound off.” Billick “rhapsodized about the play” of QB Aaron Rodgers, WR Randall Cobb, WR Jordy Nelson and LB Clay Matthews. Cobb’s “versatility clearly dazzled Billick, who marveled that Green Bay had another playmaker to add to their offensive arsenal” (JSONLINE.com, 10/21). Meanwhile, in Baltimore, David Zurawik writes, "I used to think reviewing any Baltimore Ravens telecast with Dan Dierdorf and Greg Gumbel in the broadcast booth was about as bad as things could get on my beat. But Sunday, I found out there was a much lower rung of hell to which the TV gods could send me: reviewing a Ravens telecast with Dierdorf and Gumbel in the booth and the Ravens playing really, really poorly for most of the game." Dierdorf and Gumbel “came in with a storyline, and they were absolutely unable to shift, modify or re-imagine it to explain what was happening on the field.” But Zurawik writes, "In the interest of fairness to CBS Sports, the pre-game show did an excellent job of covering the Ravens' injury situation coming into the game" (Baltimore SUN, 10/22).

BEHIND THE CURTAIN: In Cincinnati, John Kiesewetter profiled NBC’s "SNF" broadcast team of Al Michaels and Cris Colinsworth leading up to last night's Steelers-Bengals game at Paul Brown Stadium, and noted Michaels and Collinsworth “started their day with an 8:30 a.m. production meeting at a downtown hotel.” Of the nine monitors they view during the game, two "carry the action; one on each end is filled with stats; and 4 are for the isolated replay cameras fed from the 12 video replay sources.” NBC utilized 125 crew members to “produce the game and pregame show” (CINCINNATI.com, 10/21).

DOWN ON THE RANCH: In Dallas, Barry Horn noted local ratings for Cowboys games in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market are down 18% from a year ago, and "no other NFL team has seen such a drop in its hometown audience.” The average weekly rating is down from a 35.3 to 29.1, and the '11 season "was no freak." In the three seasons prior to last year’s 35.3 average, the Cowboys ratings "through five games were: 35.0 in 2010, 32.6 in 2009 and 35.2 in 2008.” The team was “the same 2-3 in 2011 and the Rangers post-season run had to divert some attention." But the time of the games are “not an issue," as in the '11 and '12 seasons, the Cowboys have "played one prime-time game on NBC, one on ESPN and three Sunday afternoons on Fox” (DALLASNEWS.com, 10/19).

DRIVING RECOGNITION: In N.Y., Shelly Freierman writes since the network began airing regular-season games in '06, "no game shown on NFL Network has been blacked out" due to a rule allowing those telecasts to be shown over-the-air in local markets. Those local markets "add to the complicated mix of advertising, cable and satellite provider fees, ticket prices and local broadcast rights that make up the intricate NFL broadcast 'economy'" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/22).