ESPN last night earned a 7.2 rating for the Falcons' 34-31 win over the Seahawks, marking the lowest-rated Week 11 "MNF" matchup since Titans-Broncos drew a 7.2 overnight in '07. Last night's rating is also down 11% from an 8.1 overnight in Week 11 last year, which featured Texans-Raiders from Mexico City. The Week 11 matchup in '15 -- Bills-Patriots -- drew a 10.0 overnight. Falcons-Seahawks peaked with an 8.2 rating between 9:45-10:15pm ET. The game drew a 39.4 local rating in Seattle (15.3 on ESPN, 24.1 on KIRO-CBS) and a 21.1 in Atlanta (8.8 on ESPN, 12.3 on WSB-ABC). New Orleans (13.2), Portland (12.0) and San Diego (10.7) rounded out the top five. Season to date, "MNF" is averaging a 7.5 overnight rating on ESPN, down from a 7.6 through Week 11 last year (Josh Carpenter, Assistant Editor).
LOSING INTEREST: In San Diego, Tod Leonard notes Sunday's Bills-Chargers game earned a 10.4 local rating, setting a "new record" for the lowest local rating by the team in San Diego. Earlier this season, the team posted its lowest rating "since at least" '98 against the Dolphins, with a 12.3. The average rating "through 10 games this season is 14.4." From '04-16, the average season rating for local Chargers telecasts "ranged between" 24.4 in '16 and 31.6 in '10. Sunday's telecast was "impacted by competition from a game on another network, in this case Patriots-Raiders on CBS, which posted an 8.3 rating" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 11/21).
NO EXCUSES: In N.Y. Peter Botte writes Pro Football HOFer Lawrence Taylor is the "last person NBC should be using to promote" its Thanksgiving night Giants-Redskins game because he is a "registered sex offender." That "didn't stop NBC from unfathomably running a promo during Sunday night's Eagles-Cowboys game of Taylor yukking it up" with former NFLer Joe Theismann while "seated together for a Thanksgiving meal to push Thursday night's matchup." Saturday "marked the anniversary of the Taylor breaking Theismann's leg and essentially ending his playing career." Including Taylor in "any sort of promotional activity is beyond inappropriate considering his history of drug abuse and criminal behavior" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/21). AWFUL ANNOUNCING’s Jay Rigdon wrote the ad “just feels weird, as if the executive who greenlit the spot had been in a coma for 32 years and didn’t bother checking Wikipedia before saying yes” (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 11/19).
CHIPPING AWAY: In Philadelphia, Rob Tornoe wrote Chip Kelly’s tenure as an analyst at ESPN "might end up being shorter than his stint" as 49ers coach -- just one season. Kelly was "surprised to be greeted" with a Univ. of Florida graphic on the set of "SportsCenter" on Sunday morning, referencing his possible interest in the UF football coaching job. Kelly jokingly said, "Is this your way of firing me?" Kelly then began "downplaying" any interest he had in the job. However, Kelly "did indeed meet" with UF AD Scott Stricklin, and he is "also believed to be UCLA's top target" to replace recently fired coach Jim Mora (PHILLY.com, 11/20).
