If you were to choose one Ron Burgundy quote to describe how CBS felt this afternoon, it would not be “stay classy, San Diego.”
CBS was tantalizingly close to a blockbuster Patriots/Colts AFC Championship Game, one that could have easily brought the network a rating of 25 or higher — and possibly one as high as 30.
The Patriots/Colts rivalry has built into arguably the best in sports, and is consistently a huge draw. Their meeting in November was the highest rated regular season NFL game in eleven years, drawing a stellar 20.1. When they met in the AFC Championship game last year, the match-up drew a 26.4 rating — the highest for the AFC title game in over twenty years.
With the Patriots undefeated this season, there is little doubt that a Patriots/Colts rematch would have put up a huge number. Unfortunately for CBS, the Chargers decided to spoil the party. San Diego defeated the Colts 28-24 earlier today, dashing any hopes CBS had of a mammoth rating.
While Patriots/Chargers should still draw a huge rating, the number will be nowhere near the level it could have hit had the Colts advanced. The Chargers’ main star, LaDainian Tomlinson, is well known, but not even in the same neighborhood as ubiquitous Colts QB Peyton Manning. Worse yet, the Chargers do not have the same heavyweight rivalry the Colts do with New England.
One reason to be optimistic: the Patriots and Chargers do have some bad blood between them. Last year, Tomlinson accused the Patriots of being classless after a memorable Divisional Round game between the teams; the game, which the Patriots won, drew a 22.1 rating on CBS.
In other NFL Playoff news, last night’s Jaguars/Patriots game averaged 26.2 million viewers in prime time on CBS, according to preliminary numbers. CBS easily won the night; the 26.2 million viewers was more than the other three networks (ABC, FOX and NBC) combined.
