Raiders-Broncos rating on MNF and all-time low

The Christmas Eve game between the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos might have been a big deal in Oakland because it could have been the Raiders' last game at the Oakland Coliseum, but it wasn't much of a hit elsewhere. According to Austin Karp of SportsBusiness Journal, the 5.4 rating for the game on ESPN was five-percent lower than the previous record low for the prime-time Monday night game. That number was 5.7 for a 2016 game between the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints, with the game going against the first Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump, which trounced the Monday Night Football game in the ratings. The fact that the Raiders (4-11) and the Broncos (6-9) are going nowhere this season and were playing on Christmas Eve certainly had an effect on the low rating. Despite the low rating for that game, the entire NFL television package for Week 16 was up six percent from the ratings of the same week during the 2017 season. The Raiders, who are moving to Las Vegas in 2020 and are unsure where they will play home games next season after the City of Oakland sued the Raiders and the NFL over the move, downed the Broncos, 27-14, highlighted by a 99-yard punt return for a touchdown by Oakland's Dwayne Harris.