Well, it was fun while it lasted.
After Sunday’s two-pack of Cowboys-Steelers and Seahawks-Patriots generated rim-rocking ratings, the year-to-year, apples-to-apples dip has returned.
Via SportsBusiness Daily, the Monday night game between the Bengals and Giants generated a 7.9 overnight rating, which represents an eight-percent drop from last season’s Texans-Bengals game played on the tenth Monday night of the season.
While the zeal for the Bengals likely is reduced this year, the presence of a top-market team with a winning record should have at least allowed this year’s game to match last year’s.
The decline may continue into Week 11. While Thursday night’s NBC-televised Saints-Panthers game will easily outpace last year’s Week 11 NFL Network-only Titans-Jaguars game, the rest of the slate contains none of the clear and obvious sizzle that last Sunday brought to the table.