Football ratings are down; reason remains unclear

NEW YORK » Most television shows would love to have the “bad ratings!” that President Donald Trump tweeted the NFL is suffering from. But he’s generally right that the TV audience size for professional football is off this year.

The president tweeted over the weekend: “NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN. Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love country. League should back U.S.” THE FACTS » Sunday afternoon NFL games averaged 16.04 million viewers for the first two weeks of this season, down 11 percent from the 18.1 million people who watched during the same period last year, the Nielsen company said.

There was little change for NBC’s first two Sunday night games: 22.2 million this year, down slightly from 22.9 million in 2016. For the first three “Monday Night Football” games shown on ESPN, viewership slipped 5 percent from the 11.79 million last year to 11.23 million this year, Nielsen said.

Average attendance at regular season NFL games last year was the highest since 2007, when the NFL set an all-time record in attendance. The NFL says ticket sales are “on par” with last year. WHAT IT MEANS » In a world where TV viewing is increasingly fragmented and more people are watching on devices or saving programs until later, the majority of TV shows have smaller ratings than the year before. Still, pro football games remain among the most-watched things on television.

The president may have his theories, but explaining why ratings are down isn’t simple. Maybe the games aren’t as good, with less attractive matchups and blowout scores.

Bills’ Hughes upset with Jim Kelly criticizing protest

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. » Buffalo Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes is upset with Jim Kelly, accusing the Hall of Fame quarterback of attempting to divide the team by publicly criticizing LeSean McCoy for how he protested during the national anthem Sunday.

Hughes says Kelly should have approached the team with his concerns and shouldn’t have been standing alongside the Bills on the field during the anthem if he had issues with the protest.

Hughes called Kelly’s actions “not cool,” and “very unacceptable.”

Kelly told Buffalo’s WGRF-Radio Monday that he had lost respect for McCoy for how the running back spent part of the anthem sitting on the field and stretching before the Bills home game against Denver.

Kelly also posted a note on his Instagram account saying the only time he will ever kneel is to pray.

McCoy took his place at the far end of a line of Bills players and coaches, who stood about 10 yards on the field as the anthem began. Kelly was at the opposite end of the line, and stood for the anthem while holding up a Bills cap in his left hand.

Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams said later Monday that Kelly and McCoy have already spoken.