2021 NFL Week Eight Ratings Part Two, and Week Nine Kayfabe Standings

Oops, I forgot something...  (Pulls up Sports Media Watch...)

The rest of the Week 8 TV ratings after the Packers and Cardinals went big...

• Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal reports the aggregate NFL ratings are up 9% year-over-year -- and the 16.5 million TV and digital viewers per slot are the highest NFL number in six years.

Week 8:

• Monday Night:  Another good bump for the Manningcast:  Giants-Chiefs got 14 million viewers, up 14% over last year.  Almost two million of that was the Manningcast.
• FOX National:  (Largely Saints-Bucs)  11.4 rating, 21.3M viewers, down 5% ratings, 7% viewers.  Might explain this week's result for the Saints.  The Bucs had their bye week...   
• FOX Regional:  6.5 ratings, 11.65M viewers, down 5% in both.
• CBS Single:  9.6 ratings, 17.78M viewers (mostly Steelers-Browns or Patriots-Chargers), good number, but also down 5% in both measures.

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So now to the Kayfabe Standings at the halfway point of the now-18 week NFL season:

AFC:

East:  Buffalo (5-3), now only 1/2 game up on the Patriots.

North:  Baltimore (6-2), one up on the Steelers.

South:  Tennessee (7-2), three clear on Indianapolis

West:  Chargers defeated the Raiders in Week 4, so the Chargers (5-3) have the tiebreaker

1) TEN

2) BAL

3) Break the BUF-LAC tie at 5-3.  Teams will not play.  LAC 3-2 in the AFC, BUF 4-3.  LAC is the #3.

4) BUF

5) Break the PIT-LV tie at 5-3.  LV won Week 2, so LV is the #5.

6) PIT

7) A five-team mess.

New England, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Denver, and Kansas City are all 5-4.

So we have two divisional ties to break first, those winners tiebreak with New England:

CLE-CIN:  CLE beat CIN this week -- rematch in Week 18.  So CLE advances to the three-way #7 tiebreak.

DEN-KC:  Have not played yet -- will play twice in December and January.  Both teams 0-1 in the division.  Kansas City wins that tiebreaker due to the common games tiebreaker.

So it's Cleveland, Kansas City, and New England.  AFC:  KC is 1-4.  CLE is 3-2.  NE is 4-1.  New England is in the playoffs as the 7th and final seed if it ended today.

NE @ BAL, PIT at LAC, LV at BUF, TEN gets the bye.

NFC:

East:  Dallas (6-2), 3 1/2 up on Washington and Philly

North:  Green Bay (7-2) 3 1/2 up on Minnesota

South:  Tampa Bay (6-2) 1 up on New Orleans

West:  Arizona (8-1), 1 up on the LA Rams

1) ARI

2) GB

3) Break the DAL-TB tie at 6-2, TB won the season-opener.  TB is the #3

4) DAL

5) LAR at 7-2

6) NO at 5-3

7) And wouldn't you know it, ATLANTA at 4-4 is the next team in line.

ATL @ GB, NO @ TB, LAR @ DAL, ARI gets the bye