Welcome to AA’s NFL local ratings rankings. Every week, we’ll take a look at which teams has the highest TV ratings in their local markets, presented 1-32 and with commentary to help provide context, enjoy.

Week 4

Byes: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Arizona, St. Louis, Seattle

1. New Orleans (NBC) – 48.9

If you follow these rankings, you may be acutely aware that the city of New Orleans enjoys watching the Saints play football. They’re #1 for the fourth consecutive week.

2. Kansas City (ESPN) – 43.7

Monday Night Football throttling of Touchdown Tom and the Patriots led the Chiefs to their highest ranking on this list of the season by far.

3. Green Bay (Milwaukee market) (Fox) – 40.7
4. Minnesota (Minneapolis-St. Paul market) (Fox) – 38.2

A late afternoon start and the emergence of Teddy Bridgewater led the Vikings to easily their highest rating of the season. It will be interesting to see just how much Bridgewater sparked the move should he play or not play next Sunday against the hated Packers.

5. Dallas (NBC) – 35.5

The Cowboys are somewhat competitive again, which means that their local ratings will be huge. The Cowboys as a local draw isn’t necessarily as important as they are as a national draw, but the season-high numbers for the game against the Saints is good news for the NFL.

6. Buffalo (CBS) – 33.3

Bills ratings came slightly back to earth this week after a huge number against the Chargers, but they were still the #1-rated market for CBS’s regional window.

7. Pittsburgh (Fox) – 33.0

The switch from the usual CBS to Fox drew a season low rating in the Steel City.

8. Indianapolis (CBS) – 31.8
9. Philadelphia (Fox) – 31.5

The Eagles suffered their first loss of the season on Sunday, but Chip Kelly fever has clearly caught on in Philly, as the market drew its highest rating of the season for the late afternoon Fox game.

10. New England (Boston market) (ESPN) – 30.1
11. Chicago (Fox) – 30.0
12. Baltimore (CBS) – 29.9

For those checking in on Ravens ratings, Week 4 was a slight improvement over Week 3 (28.2) but still nowhere near where they were for that Thursday game against Pittsburgh (42.9).

13. San Diego (CBS) – 29.7
14. Houston (CBS) – 27.6

This is a season high for the Texans, but with the Cowboys on the docket for next week, I’d expect that to be eclipsed immediately.

15. Atlanta (Fox) – 24.4

This is a season high for the ATL, and way up from the Thursday night blowout over Tampa Bay last week (19.9).

16. San Francisco (SF-OAK-SJ market) (Fox) – 23.3
t17. Detroit (Fox) – 22.1
t17. Carolina (Charlotte market) (CBS) – 22.1

Both of these matching 22.1’s are season lows for the teams involved.

19. Jacksonville (CBS) – 21.7
20. Washington (CBS/NFLN) – 19.9

A massive blowout, despite a primetime game on Thursday, drove the DC NFL franchise to a season low rating.

21. Tennessee (Nashville market) (CBS) – 19.7

Here’s another season low, for a club that the market may be tiring of with a lack of on-field success.

22. Tampa Bay (Fox) – 19.4

A visit from the snowbird-friendly Pittsburgh Steelers and a victory helped the Bucs bounce back from season low ratings for last week’s Thursday night debacle (12.7).

23. Miami (CBS) – 14.9

Not as bad as the market they played against, but it is odd that a neutral site game drew a season low.

24. NY Giants (CBS/NFL Net) – 14.1
25. NY Jets (Fox) – 11.4
26. Oakland (SF-OAK-SJ market) (CBS) – 5.7

The hell happened here, Oakland? Too caught up in A’s fever? Morally objecting to the playing of NFL games in London? Or just a bad football team that you don’t want to wake up at 10 a.m. local time to watch? Probably that last one. Oakland lengthens their “lead” from the rest of the pack at the bottom of the local ratings rankings by a good margin.

Averages through Week 4

1. New Orleans – 46.0
2. Green Bay (Milwaukee market) – 41.8
3. Denver – 
40.9
4. Seattle – 39.3
5. Kansas City – 36.6
6. Pittsburgh – 36.1
7. Indianapolis – 34.9
8. Buffalo – 34.1
t9. Baltimore – 32.7
t9. Minnesota (Minneapolis-St. Paul market) – 32.7
11. New England (Boston market) – 31.2
12. Chicago – 30.7
13. Cincinnati – 30.6
14. Philadelphia – 30.5
15. San Diego – 30.4
16. Cleveland – 29.0
17. Dallas – 28.5
18. Carolina (Charlotte market) – 26.7
19. Houston – 25.4
20. Detroit – 24.8
21. Arizona (Phoenix market) – 24.7
22. San Francisco (SF-OAK-SJ market) – 23.4
t23. Tennessee (Nashville market) – 21.8
t23. Washington – 21.8
25. Atlanta – 21.7
26. Jacksonville – 20.1
27. Tampa Bay – 17.3
28. Miami – 16.8
29. St. Louis – 15.1
30. NY Giants – 14.5
31. NY Jets – 12.1
32. Oakland (SF-OAK-SJ market) – 9.6

About Steve Lepore

Steve Lepore is a writer for Bloguin and a correspondent for SiriusXM NHL Network Radio.

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