NFL Week 2 Overnights: "SNF" Leads With Vikes' Stadium Debut, But Down 16% From '15

NBC led all Week 2 Sunday NFL broadcasts with a 13.7 overnight rating for “SNF,” which featured the Vikings’ win over the Packers in the first-ever regular-season game at U.S. Bank Stadium. The 13.7 is down 16% from Seahawks-Packers in Week 2 last year, but continued to deliver NBC a primetime win. Minneapolis-St. Paul drew a 50.4 local rating to lead all markets for “SNF,” followed by a 46.6 in Milwaukee. CBS drew a 13.6 for the Week 2 national window yesterday, which featured Colts-Broncos in 74% of markets. Last year’s Week 2 national window was on Fox, with Cowboys-Eagles in 97% of markets. Fox drew a 12.3 for the NFL singleheader window yesterday ( Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor ).

POSING THE QUESTION : In N.Y., Bob Raissman writes under the header, "Fox Voices Curiously Praise NFL Safety Measures After Vicious Hit." There is "no blueprint for a voice when a player's skull ricochets off of body parts like a pinball." Some remain "relatively silent while pictures tell the story." Some are "forced to describe the defining hit again because of a producer who wants to replay it multiple times." Fox' Daryl Johnston and Kenny Albert took a "different road, using part of the time to paint a sympathetic picture of a concerned NFL." Raissman: "Sadly, neither voice bothered to wonder -- not even ask -- the following question: What took the NFL so long?" ( N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/19 ).

EYES HAVE IT : In Baltimore, David Zurawik writes the CBS team of Carter Blackburn, Chris Simms and Jenny Dell are "not exactly household names," but when teams like the Ravens and Browns are playing, "don't expect the A team." Simms had been "irritating ... in a low level way all afternoon with little things like his view on which college football conference is the best." The job of an analyst is to make the game being played that afternoon or evening more "enjoyable for the viewer, to open their eyes to things they might mot otherwise see." It is not to "talk about themselves or go off on calls when they don’t have the information to offer an informed opinion." But Simms did have "some good moments." His reflexes and "instincts in the booth are excellent." Meanwhile, Blackburn's call "started a little slow and flat," but the "incredible first quarter play by the Browns got him juiced and his energy level went through the roof" ( Baltimore SUN, 9/19 ). In N.Y., Phil Mushnick wrote CBS' Jim Nantz and Phil Simms have become "just another selectively blind, avoid-the-truth, tip-toeing TV team." Thursday, during Jets-Bills, Nantz previewed Bengals-Steelers on CBS and said: "How about Cincinnati at Pittsburgh? Wow! We’ve been waiting for that game since January!" The duo's "pandering was so ceaseless and apparent" that a viewer would have thought NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was "at their backs with a cattle prod" ( N.Y. POST, 9/18 ).

FLAG ON THE PLAY : Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira said of CBS' decision to fire Mike Carey after two years, "I was very disappointed. I thought Mike was better in Year Two than he was in Year One. ... I struggled in my first two years also. Accuracy wasn’t necessarily an issue, but getting on and off (the air) in a time frame and trying to speak clearly and simply was a bit of a struggle." Pereira believes "some of the over-the-top critiques, especially on social media, led directly to Carey's TV demise" ( N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/18 ).

WEARING A MOUTHPIECE : ESPN Senior Coordinating Producer Seth Markman said of the media positing that the net's Trent Dilfer is a mouthpiece for 49ers GM Trent Baalke, "It is absolutely insulting. It is insulting to Trent. I think its is insulting to all of us here. This man has been an analyst for nine years now -- one of the top analysts in the business. When he speaks, it is from his heart. His opinions are his own. The guy knows his credibility is always going to be on the line. He would never jeopardize that in any kind of a situation. ... To ever think that he would be a mouthpiece or carry the water for a front office guy on any team is ridiculous." Markman said that he had "no idea" what relationship Dilfer had with Baalke. Markman: "Even if he had a friendship with someone, it would not stop him from saying what he believed" ( SI.com, 9/18 ). 

ON THE CALL : SI.com's Richard Deitsch reported CBS' Kevin Harlan, who last Monday while calling "MNF" for Westwood One radio provided play-by-play of a bare-chested intruder's sprint around the field , "got a call" from "The Tonight Show," which wanted to fly Harlan to N.Y. to do "calls of pedestrians walking down the street." However, Harlan "didn't want [to] push" his notoriety, and it "might be odd going on Fallon," which is an NBC show. He also "did not want to glorify the moment" ( SI.com, 9/18 ).