Brady-Manning XIV another prime time ratings hit

Posted by Darin Gantt on November 25, 2013, 10:48 AM EST
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NBC’s Sunday Night Football did record ratings a week ago for Broncos-Chiefs, but last night topped it.

The Patriots’ overtime win over Peyton Manning and the Broncos posted a 17.0 rating and a 28.0 share in overnight ratings released by the network.

Last week’s game did a 16.6/27, which was the highest prime time rating for a November game since 1996.

While the Broncos encouraged a lot of people to go to sleep with a 24-0 halftime lead, the highest-rated half-hour was from 11:30 p.m. to midnight Eastern, when the ratings peaked at 17.9/34.

Those who hung around were rewarded with a thrilling finish, worth staying up past their bedtimes.

The ratings more than doubled the second-highest rated show of the evening, the American Music Awards (8.2/12), which proves beyond a doubt that watching two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks go toe-to-toe is better than oddly dressed people and their singing cats.

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34 responses to “Brady-Manning XIV another prime time ratings hit”

  1. I’m going to miss watching these two duke it out when they are gone! Been watching them since they entered the league and even though I’m not a fan of either the game won’t be the same without them! What a great game last night!

  2. Great comeback by the Pats, Great drive by Peyton to tie it in regulation. Sucks that it ended on a botched play but those are the types of plays that can make the difference in the cold windy weather.

    Great game and it’s awesome to watch 2 of the greats go at it again. Not sure how many more of these we will be able to watch but it’s a treat for the fans. These games rarely dissapoint.

  5. Great day to be a Patriots fan. Despite the injuries, still have the best HC/QB in the NFL ! And the possibility of playing in the SB outdoors in February does not faze this team.

  6. ampats:

    Definitely the best coach in the NFL. Not sure Brady is the best QB in the NFL. I’m sure some will disagree with the comeback fresh on their minds from last night.

    There is a top 4 QB list and then “the rest” regardless of who is best.

    In no particular order:

    Manning
    Brady
    Brees
    Rodgers

  7. I got to watch the Cowboys/Giants game and then the Patriots/Broncos game. There is nothing better than 6 hours of “Manning Face” on a Sun afternoon/evening in late Nov.

  8. .

    Brady should be the NFC fans favorite QB. Since they don’t really care about the AFC until the Super Bowl, their main interest is in viewing a good game. Brady consistently delivers an exciting product to the neutral fan base.

    .

  9. Its impossible to say who’s the best quarterback in NFL history. The eras in which the greats have played in makes it so you can’t judge them equally. Brady is certainly in the discussion and that’s really all you can ask for.

    However I do feel confident in saying that Brady is the best bad weather quarterback in NFL history. His performance never wanes whether he’s facing blizzards, ice, rain, or extremely windy conditions. It’s one of the most overlooked aspects of his career. The ability to excel in any weather condition.

  10. My 20’s and 30’s have been filled with Brady V. Manning. the NFL won’t be the same without this matchup.

    Also, 10-4 Brady in head to head. Case closed.

  11. Great game and this goes into my personal top 3 games in the Brady/Manning rivalry.

    You just can never count Brady out, especially when he is playing at Gillette stadium.

  12. The question should now be, when these two are gone, what does the NFL have to replace it? The answer currently is “not much”. Sure you have Brees and Rodgers in the NFC, but neither of those teams dominate quite the way the Patriots and Manning-led teams have for the last decade.

  13. It is great to see positive comments, glad they got in before the haters do. Brady and Manning are class acts and that is one reason so many people like to watch them play. I think Brady is a wonderful quarterback and I think Manning is an expert at taking a team down the field in seconds.
    Loved the game!

  14. strokinmyego says:
    Nov 25, 2013 11:43 AM

    However I do feel confident in saying that Brady is the best bad weather quarterback in NFL history. His performance never wanes whether he’s facing blizzards, ice, rain, or extremely windy conditions. It’s one of the most overlooked aspects of his career. The ability to excel in any weather condition.
    ________________________________
    He’s definitely great in most weather conditions. I like to joke that it’s because of his Nordic heritage on his mom’s side (she’s from Minn and I think she’s of Norwegian or Swedish heritage). Who knows? But it definitely doesn’t worry me when the Pats play in bad weather.

    I absolutely cannot believe the Pats won that game. Still in awe of the mental toughness they showed. That’s special.

  16. Fluke win, Bronco’s lost Their best Secondary player, half way through the game, they lost the game nothing new, same thing happen against the Ravens last year

  17. I had to drag myself to work today, I couldnt believe the Bronco’s lost that game, I don’t think they are going far into the playoffs, if they keep playing like that, they are going to be extremely lucky if they make past the 1st game

  18. malvaren18 says:

    Fluke win, Bronco’s lost Their best Secondary player, half way through the game
    __________________________
    The Pats are among the most injured teams in the league with a decimated secondary. Very weak to try and play the “Donks were injured” card when the Pats have many rookies and 3rd stringers playing.

    hendawg21 says:

    So riventing I chose not to watch, I don’t really care for Papa John Jr. and Mr. Giselle…
    _______________________________

    Always hilarious to see someone whose probably never had a date in their life and is 400 pounds living at momma’s house making fun of who Brady is married to. As if you wouldn’t crawl in your hands and knees to get a woman like Giselle in your life.

  20. Just like the days of Brett Favre. People watch Brady or Manning to watch them succeed or fail. NFL doesn’t care which. Just as long as we watch.

  21. Man… Will there ever be a replacement rivalry between these two elites when they retire? It does not matter what team you root for but as a football fan you can’t help but get thrilled when these two face off. It’s always a treat to see them duke it out. Last night was a classic. That game will be remembered for a while just like the one against NO. Brady is cool under pressure. Still can’t believe the pats dug themselves out of that hole so quickly. My friend is flying to Denver today. Last night when the pats were losing, he wondered if he wiould wear his pats hat. He thought he might get taunted in Denver ;today he wondered if he will get beat up over there. Told him no… The Denver crowd will be as classy as their quarterback.

  22. Did anyone else see the photgrapher who took the picture attatched to this article get decked? I rewound my dvr to watch it again because I had a, “did that just happen” moment. It went down as such… a photographer gets lined up to take this picture, but as soon as Tom and Peyton meet out of nowhere another photographer shows up and bumps into the first one and steals his shot. Knowing he just lost the most important shot of the night the photgrapher then punches the other right in the face/camera. lol

  23. I will be telling me kids and grandkids how lucky I was to watch these 2 play each others teams on a regular basis at the peak of their careers. And how defensive coordinators regularly needed to change their pants.

    It is remarkable how Belichick always manages to get a turnover from Peyton. A better chess match didn’t/doesn’t exist in the NFL.

  24. Fluke win because Donkeys lost DRC!? How about no: Wilfork, Mayo, Gregory, Kelly all Defensive starters! Or: Ridley, Blount, Cannon, Vollmer, all starters on O!!

  25. Did anyone else notice how Manning basically slapped Brady’s hand and left him kind of hanging at the handshake? It looked like Brady wanted to talk but Manning blew him off. I understand he’s frustrated after a big loss. However if this was Belichick, or even Brady, we’d be analyzing and focusing on the handshakes for weeks on end…..

  27. As a Pats fan-
    Scott Pioli’s explanation on Welker, and why New England didnt stay in New England, was one of the dumbest, most vanilla explanations Ive ever heard.
    Sounded nothing short of a politician answer on one of the most controversial releases in team history.

    The fact that Pioli even IMPLIED that Amendola couldn’t be ruled out as not matching or PASSING Welker’s productivity, YET. Because its ‘too early to tell’ and that ‘we look towards the future’ — the future does not hold what Welker did and everyone knows that.

    Not paying players (Except Tom Brady) for PAST performance, is there way but in this instance was Disrespect to Welker. Pioli is either too stupid or too afraid to use common sense on national TV to admit that.

  28. The ratings don’t reflect my viewership, because like always, I watched on an illegal internet feed, the bandwidth for which was supplied by my rooted and tethered (for free) 4G LTE android device because I don’t have any terrestrial television or internet service at my home (saving me hundreds of dollars every month) and yet still manage to watch anything and everything I wish to watch.

  31. johninthewest says:
    For Pete’s sake! why don’t the Patsies ever play IN Denver?
    ——————————–
    Sunday night was the 10th meeting between the Broncos and the Patriots in the Brady era (since 2001). Five were played in Denver and five in New England.

  33. I am a huge Peyton Manning fan but I can’t make excuses for his big game failures any longer. Enough is enough and the facts now are just too overwhelming. The voice in the back of my head has been telling me this for year s but instead I would just follow the Herd and ESPN in defending him. Greatness isn’t just playing great when conditions are ideal and easy. It’s got me thinking that I may have been duped by the media about his All-Time Greatness all along. He’s great but you can’t be All-Time Great with these games and playoff failures. How do you get OWNED by the guy they so often compare you to? Unbelievable. BTW, for all of you that use the excuse that he plays against Belichick here’s something to consider. Drew Brees averages 32 PPG has 10 TDs to 1 INT and passer rating in the 120s against Belichick. It’s time to stop making excuses and call it like we see it and what the facts say it is. He’s a soft, dome pampered QB with a fire no bigger than a match stick that wilts like a flower in the cold and crumbles like a cookie under pressure

  34. It’s time to stop making excuses and call it like we see it and what the facts say it is. He’s a soft, dome pampered QB with a fire no bigger than a match stick that wilts like a flower in the cold and crumbles like a cookie under pressure

    Dude, I love beating Peyton Manning, but that is a liiittle bit harsh,eh?

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