Welcome to AA’s NFL local ratings rankings. Every week, we’ll take a look at which teams have the highest TV ratings in their local markets, presented 1-32 and with commentary to help provide context, enjoy.
Byes: Buffalo, Tennessee, Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Atlanta
1. New Orleans (NFL Net) – 49.5
Slightly lower than last week’s season high, still way higher than anyone else in the league. The Saints fell off for a couple of weeks, but are back to being the NFL’s top local draw.
2. New England (Boston market) (CBS) – 46.6
Manning-Brady busted the previous high for a Patriots game this season by a lot (36.2 in Week 7) and led them to their best showing on this list.
3. Pittsburgh (NBC) – 46.2
Primetime, Sunday night game against the team’s biggest rival? Easily a season high for the Steelers in Pittsburgh, who’s ratings have gone up (32.4 to 38.5 to 41.3 to 46.2) each of the last three weeks.
4. Denver (CBS) – 45.7
Manning-Brady was just short of the season high (47.1 in Week 7) for the Denver market.
5. Seattle (CBS) – 44.1
6. Baltimore (NBC) – 36.3
Worth noting: this was the highest rating in Baltimore for a Ravens game since that infamous Week 2, Thursday night showdown against the Steelers.
7. Kansas City (CBS) – 35.1
8. Minnesota (Minneapolis-St. Paul market) – 35.0
9. Indianapolis (ESPN) – 33.0
10. Cleveland (Fox) – 31.5
11. Cincinnati (CBS) – 31.0
12. Dallas (Fox) – 30.3
13. Philadelphia (Fox) – 29.8
14. Arizona (Phoenix market) (Fox) – 29.0
Game against “America’s Team” that signifies your club’s coming out as a potential contender? There’s a season high for the Cardinals.
15. Washington (Fox) – 26.0
16. San Diego (CBS) – 25.3
A week after hitting a season high, the Chargers drop to a season low for a game that started at 10 a.m. local time.
17. Houston (Fox) – 24.8
18. Carolina (Charlotte market) (NFL Net) – 22.9
19. San Francisco (SF-OAK-SJ market) (Fox) – 20.4
20. Jacksonville (CBS) – 19.0
t21. Tampa Bay (Fox) – 16.8
t21. Miami (Fox) – 16.8
23. St. Louis (Fox) – 15.8
24. NY Giants (ESPN) – 12.2
The Giants hit a season low despite being on the Monday night game, as fans are clearly tiring with the team.
25. NY Jets (CBS) – 10.5
Same.
26. Oakland (SF-OAK-SJ market) (CBS) – 4.2
To be fair, the Raiders are terrible and the game went head-to-head in the same market as a 49ers-Rams game at the same time. Still, this is the lowest local rating of the season and the third time the Raiders have fell into single digits, the only team to do that this season once, never mind three times.
Rankings Through Week 9
1. New Orleans – 45.2
2. Green Bay (Milwaukee market) – 42.8
3. Denver – 42.1
4. Seattle – 40.4
5. Pittsburgh – 37.6
6. Kansas City – 36.6
7. Buffalo – 35.8
8. Indianapolis – 35.2
9. New England (Boston market) – 34.1
t10. Minnesota (Minneapolis-St. Paul market) – 31.8
t10. Baltimore – 31.8
t12. Dallas – 31.6
t12. Cleveland – 31.6
14. Cincinnati – 31.0
15. Philadelphia – 30.5
16. San Diego – 30.0
17. Chicago – 28.9
18. Arizona (Phoenix market) – 26.3
19. Houston – 26.2
20. Detroit – 25.4
21. Carolina (Charlotte market) – 24.8
22. Washington – 23.5
23. San Francisco (SF-OAK-SJ market) – 23.4
24. Tennessee – 21.9
25. Jacksonville – 20.8
26. Atlanta – 19.5
27. Tampa Bay – 16.7
28. Miami – 16.2
29. St. Louis – 15.3
30. NY Giants – 15.1
31. NY Jets – 12.2
32. Oakland (SF-OAK-SJ market) – 9.9
