Seattle-Tacoma was the top market for Seahawks-Bears with a 31.1 local ratingGETTY IMAGES
Seahawks-Bears last night marked the lowest Week 2 "Monday Night Football" overnight rating since the package moved over to ESPN prior to the '06 season. The game drew an 8.2 overnight from 8:15-11:15pm ET, down 6% from an 8.7 last year for Lions-Giants. The previous Week 2 low was an 8.3 for Eagles-Bears in '16. Last night's game peaked at a 9.1 rating from 9:30-9:45pm. Seahawks-Bears had competition from the Primetime Emmys on NBC, which drew an all-time low figure (7.4 overnight). For "MNF," the Seattle-Tacoma market drew a 31.1 local rating (9.8 on ESPN, 21.3 on KIRO-CBS) and the Chicago market drew a 29.1 rating (8.8 on ESPN, 20.3 on WLS-ABC) (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
MACK ATTACK: Bears LB Khalil Mack was mic'd up for the broadcast, but many Twitter commentators did not think this added much to the game presentation. Former NFLer Geoff Schwartz: "Every time they air that segment he’s just yelling and cheering." The Athletic's Mark Kaboly: "So Khalil Mack mic’d up and says: 'Ahhhh' ... 'Let’s get it baby' ... 'I love it baby. We got your back' ... 'Ahhhh' ... 'Mic check, mic check.' Seems well worth it." ESPN Radio 710 Seattle's Danny O'Neil: "The Monday Night Mic let's us hear ... Khalil Mack celebrate while on the sidelines?" SB Nation's Field Gulls: "Mack is a great player. not the type that you mic up though if you want to hear something interesting. or words." Sacramento-based KHTK-AM's Kyle Madson: "Mack mic'd up is TRASH." Idaho-based KTIK-FM's John Patrick: "@NFL_MNF Has Khalil Mack mic'ed up and by God they are going to play that audio no matter anticlimactic it is."
EVERY MINUTE MAKES A DIFFERENCE: Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio notes "MNF" is kicking off at 8:15pm ET this season, and he likes the development. Last night's game ended around 11:20pm, and Florio said, "I'm not going to complain about the NFL starting those primetime games a little bit earlier." NBCSN's Chris Simms said, "It's great. Two nights in a row, we've gotten lucky. The Giants-Cowboys game moved really well on 'Sunday Night Football.' It was off the air by 11:00 or somewhere around" ("PFT," NBCSN, 9/18).
