There wasn't a whole lot of anticipation for this week's Monday Night Football game between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets, as evidenced by the viewership.
According to Sports Media Watch, the Week 9 contest between the AFC East rivals averaged 9.83 million viewers. The report stated this is the least-watched Week 9 on ESPN since 2004; the Cleveland Browns-Baltimore Ravens game recorded 7.71 million viewers.
Sports Media Watch also noted that this was a giant decrease from the 2019 Week 9 Monday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants that averaged 13.98 million viewers.
This was also a noticeable drop in viewership compared to last Monday's game between the Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which drew 11.703 million viewers.
The Patriots, of course, have been the NFL's model organization over the past two decades. And the Jets play in the giant New York market, so the drop in ratings will still come as a surprise to some.
But this is a struggling Patriots team that no longer has franchise icon Tom Brady, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. The Jets entered this game with an 0-8 record, and they remain the NFL's only winless team through nine weeks.
The Jets held a 27-17 lead after three quarters, and it looked as though they were about to finally pick up their first victory of 2020. However, the Patriots rallied for 13 unanswered fourth quarter points.
Nick Folk booted the game-winning 51-yard field goal as time expired to help the Pats end a four-game losing streak.
With the win, the Patriots moved to 3-5 and barely kept their playoff hopes alive. Up next, they'll host Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, who beat the Patriots soundly in Week 9 of last season. The winless Jets, meanwhile, enter their bye week as they prepare for a Week 11 road game against the Los Angeles Chargers.