Last night's game, which the Eagles won 28-13, peaked at a 9.3 rating between 9:30-9:45pm ETgetty images
An NFC East game with playoff implications helped ESPN to a ratings increase last night, as the Redskins-Eagles "MNF" tilt drew an 8.2 overnight, up 5% from a 7.8 for Steelers-Bengals in Week 13 last year. Redskins-Eagles also is up from a 6.0 in '16 for Colts-Jets, which was near a record low for the "MNF" package. Last night's game, which the Eagles won 28-13, peaked at a 9.3 rating between 9:30-9:45pm ET. Philadelphia led all local markets with a combined 31.7 rating (10.1 on ESPN, 21.6 on WPVI-ABC), followed by DC with a 21.6 (11.7 on ESPN, 9.9 on WJLA-ABC). Richmond-Petersburg (16.9), Norfolk (15.4) and New Orleans (13.6) rounded out the top 5 markets (Josh Carpenter, THE DAILY).
ZERO TOLERANCE: In DC, Scott Allen notes early in the fourth quarter of last night's game, the talk in the ESPN "MNF" booth "turned to Washington's decision to claim Reuben Foster off waivers." Joe Tessitore asked Jason Witten if the Redskins should have taken a chance on Foster, to which Witten said, "One hundred percent no. I believe the Washington Redskins used horrendous judgement in claiming this guy. And I understand that it's an ongoing investigation. But my family's been affected by domestic violence. I understand the anguish that it causes. And you know, young players just have to understand that there is no tolerance for putting your hands on a woman. Period." Analyst Booger McFarland added, "The NFL needs a more stringent policy when it comes to domestic violence, make the punishment (work). Make it something that if it does come up, that the NFL will punish you so bad that you don't want to be involved with it anymore." Witten also said, "Guys have to understand that, and what we're seeing around the league: there's no tolerance for it. There cannot be. It has to be unwavering. And I just think it sent the wrong message when the Redskins claimed Reuben Foster." McFarland said if the NFL "really wants to do away with it in their league, they're going to have to figure out a way to make the punishment a lot tougher" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 12/4).
MASSACHUSETTS MASSES: The Patriots' 24-10 victory over the Vikings on Sunday delivered a season-high 39.8 local rating in the Boston market on WFXT-Fox, finishing as the top-rated program of the week. The game, which started at 4:45pm ET, peaked with a 42.4 rating at 7:00pm. This was the highest-rated regular season game locally for the Patriots since a matchup with the Jets in '16. The Patriots have also secured seven of the top 10 ratings across all local television programming in the last 10 months since Super Bowl LII (Patriots).
DA BEARS ARE BACK: In Chicago, Phil Rosenthal notes three-quarters through the '18 regular season, ratings in Chicago for the 8-4 Bears are up 37.8% over last year at the 12-game mark. The '17 Bears were 3-9 at this point, finishing 5-11, and averaged a 20.1 rating locally. This season, the Bears have "averaged a 27.7 household rating locally, which represents almost 900,630 homes" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/4).
