Traina Thoughts: NFL Ratings Continue To Drop

Week 12 NFL ratings saw major declines across the board.

1. The NFL ratings news has not been great this season, and it got a lot worse in Week 12. All three games on Thanksgiving saw a big drop in viewership. Dish Network did not carry the Chargers-Cowboys game, but it probably wouldn't have mattered if they did, because the ratings were down across the board on Turkey Day.

Thanksgiving was not kind to the NFL. For afternoon doubleheader, looking like lowest Thanksgiving for Fox/CBS since 2008. Dish Net-CBS carriage dispute didnt help this year. In primetime, Giants-Redskins was NBC's lowest rating since it started airing Thanksgiving game in 2012

— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) November 27, 2017

Sunday didn't fare much better, with the afternoon games taking a ratings dip. It's no coincidence that Packers-Steelers was up at night since that game was close throughout and went down the wire.

Sounding like a broken record already, but NFL overnight ratings slid again yesterday -- 3 of 4 windows. NBC's "Sunday Night Football" only one with a gain (+3%). Fox singleheader -9%, CBS regional window -8% and CBS national window -12%

— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) November 27, 2017

Last night's ESPN game featuring two unattractive teams in the Texans and Ravens also took a dive.

Thanksgiving was not kind to the NFL. For afternoon doubleheader, looking like lowest Thanksgiving for Fox/CBS since 2008. Dish Net-CBS carriage dispute didnt help this year. In primetime, Giants-Redskins was NBC's lowest rating since it started airing Thanksgiving game in 2012

— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) November 27, 2017

I wrote last week that this has been a horrible NFL season on the field. Week 12 continued that trend with the Saints-Rams game being the only competitive contest of the day that featured two winning teams. 

Obviously, the league has had a bunch of issues off the field and the President of the United States repeatedly fanning those flames. Add in people cutting the cord and you have the perfect storm that the league is dealing with right now when it comes to ratings.

Of course, when you put things in perspective, the reality is that despite the drop in ratings, the NFL is still King when it comes to TV.

The American public is so fed up that 7 of the 9 highest-rated shows this weekend were NFL games. https://t.co/wodJyw33bS

— Michael Mulvihill (@mulvihill79) November 28, 2017

2. With favorites on fire in the NFL, Vegas suffered another rough week.

3. We all know Gregg Popovich isn't a big fan of the refs, but he was extra salty last night.

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4. Blake Griffin suffered what looked like a serious knee injury during Sunday night's game against the Lakers, so everyone on Twitter put the blame on Griffin's girlfriend.

Damn bruh that Kardashian curse real, Blake injured his knee smh

— 999 (@yashaaine) November 28, 2017

Blake just got a wiff of that kardashian-Jenner curse

— JESS (@_jess702) November 28, 2017

5.Mike Francesa, who has less than three weeks remaining in his WFAN career, went off yesterday about touchdown celebrations, because God forbid players have fun and fans get some entertainment mixed in with their football.

6.This video that TMZ dug up of a Georgia Tech football player knocking out his teammate during a locker room fight before the season is quite disturbing. It's also ridiculous that the players reportedly did not miss any action as a disciplinary measure, yet Baker Mayfield had to sit out a few players because of a harmless crotch grab.

7. RANDOM WRESTLING VIDEO OF THE DAY: My good friend Andrew Perloff of The Dan Patrick Show requested this all-time classic video of Roddy Piper cracking a coconut over Jimmy Snuka's head.

Traina Thoughts is the best of the Internet, plus musings by SI.com writer, Jimmy Traina. Get the link to a new Traina's Thoughts each day by following on Twitter and liking on Facebook. Catch up on previous editions of Traina Thoughts right here. And check out Jimmy Traina's weekly podcast, "Off The Board."

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BONUS ITEM: Lane Kiffin has been a great follow on Twitter this week.