Week 6 NFL ratings predictions, highlighted by Steelers-Chiefs. Also on tap, the MLB League Championship Series, college football, and NASCAR.
Last week’s results at the bottom of the page. All times Eastern.
NFL: Mostly Steelers-Chiefs (4:25 PM Sun CBS)
The Week 6 NFL ratings picture is not pretty. The Cowboys are off, the Giants are in primetime, and the featured window includes the Chiefs. Kansas City may be the NFL’s last undefeated team, but it simply does not have the drawing power to carry a national window. The Steelers are a stronger draw, but cannot singlehandedly move the needle like the Cowboys, Packers and Patriots. Ratings will obviously be down substantially from last year, when most of the country got Cowboys-Packers (15.8). The real question is will the ratings be as low as two weeks ago, when CBS earned a mere 9.1 rating in the late doubleheader window. Prediction: 9.9.
NFL: Giants-Broncos (8:30 PM Sun NBC)
As if it wasn’t bad enough that the winless Giants are on Sunday Night Football this week, the team will play without its star WR Odell Beckham Jr., now out for the season. That leaves NBC with one of the worst matchups it has ever televised on SNF. Believe it or not, the network might still manage an increase in ratings. Last year’s comparable Colts-Texans game delivered just an 8.1 rating, the lowest for SNF since 2011. Even the Giants might be able to clear that bar. Prediction: 8.5.
ALCS: Yankees-Astros Game 2 (4 PM Sat FOX)
ALCS ratings were guaranteed to hit a multi-year high the moment the Blue Jays missed the playoffs. Toronto’s trips to the woodshed the past two years were the lowest rated LCS ever, setting a bar that would have been easily surpassed by any all-U.S. series. The Yankees’ presence guarantees that ratings are not just up, but the strongest in years. No afternoon LCS game has cracked a 3.0 rating since New York’s previous ALCS appearance in 2012, when the end of their four-game loss to Detroit had a 3.5 on a Thursday afternoon. Expect similarly strong numbers this time around. Prediction: 3.6.
NLCS: Cubs-Dodgers Games 1 & 2 (8 PM Sat & 7:30 PM Sun TBS)
Winning the World Series has made the Cubs less of a story, and less of a draw, than in their previous playoff appearances. Even so, their NLCS rematch against the Dodgers should pull strong numbers. Expect Game 1 Saturday night to edge last year’s 3.2 on Fox Sports 1, but trail 2015 on TBS (4.5). Game 2 on Sunday should come in behind both years (4.1 last year and 3.8 in 2015), but still do a respectable number. Predictions: 3.4 and 3.6.
CFB: #9 Ohio State-Nebraska (7:30 PM Sat FS1)
With FOX getting the ALCS on Saturday, Fox Sports 1 has a full slate of college football games, topped by one of the network’s biggest gets yet — a battle of bluebloods between Ohio State and Nebraska. FS1’s highest college football rating is a 1.7 rating, set by Texas-Oklahoma last year and Michigan-Utah in 2015. Last year’s Nebraska-Ohio State game had a 2.8 rating on ABC. Prediction: 1.8.
CFB: #12 Oklahoma-Texas (3:30 PM Sat ESPN)
After a long run on ABC, the Red River Rivalry is on cable for a second straight season — this time moving up the dial from FS1 to ESPN. Last year’s 1.7 rating was the lowest in the series since at least 1998. Between the network switch and a later timeslot, ratings should recover this season. However, the numbers should remain well below the last airing on ABC two years ago (3.3). Prediction: 2.2.
NASCAR Playoffs: Talladega (2 PM Sun NBC)
Talladega is the third Cup Series race this season to move up from NBCSN to NBC. The previous two, Bristol and the Brickyard, are the only races all season to post an increase in ratings. That is no coincidence. Given the circumstances, it would be a shock if ratings declined — though given NASCAR’s overall trend, not impossible. Last year’s Talladega race had a 2.2 rating, the lowest since at least 1998. Prediction: 2.4.
Last Week’s Results
— NFL: Packers-Cowboys. Prediction: 15.2; result: 13.6
— NFL: Chiefs-Texans. Prediction: 9.4; result: 9.6
— MLB: Indians-Yankees Game 3. Prediction: 2.2; result: 3.0
— MLB: Cubs-Nationals Game 2. Prediction: 2.4; result: 2.1
— CFB: MSU-Michigan. Prediction: 3.4; result: 3.7
— CFB: West Va.-TCU. Prediction: 1.3; result: 0.7
— NBA Preseason: Kings-Lakers. Prediction: 0.5; result: 0.27
— NASCAR Playoffs: Charlotte. Prediction: 1.9; result: 1.8
