While rookie quarterback Sam Darnold brought new hope to New York Jets’ fans, a couple of lopsided scores drove Week 1 ratings of “Monday Night Football” to their lowest level since ESPN acquired the NFL package in 2006.
The Jets’ 48-17 annihilation of the Detroit Lions drew a 7.5 overnight Nielsen rating — down 4 percent from a 7.8 rating for the TV franchise’s early game a year ago.
The Los Angeles Rams’ 33-13 win over the Oakland Raiders earned a 7 rating — the same as the opening late game in 2017.
Their combined 14.5 rating, however, represented the lowest opening Monday for “MNF.”
The only opening overnight lower than the 7 recorded for Monday’s Rams-Raiders matchup was a 6.8 rating in 2007, when the San Francisco 49ers eked out a win over the Arizona Cardinals.
A single rating point represents 1 percent of the TV sets in the US.
Last year, within 24 hours of the season’s “MNF” opener, Hurricane Irma slammed into Florida as a Category 4 storm, forcing millions to evacuate and distracting even more from NFL viewing.
This year’s results didn’t establish any viewing patterns. After swooning to a decade low on the opening Thursday game, ratings posted gains for three out of four NFL telecasts on Sunday — only to retreat again on Monday.