Monday Night Football ratings: Lions-Bears rating down from last year

Clearly affected by Game 7 of Major League Baseball's NLCS, the Detroit Lions' Monday Night Football showdown with the Chicago Bears dropped in ratings from the previous year as reported by James Janke of The Detroit Free Press.

Broadcast on both ABC and ESPN in Detroit, Monday's NFC North battle did not peak in viewership until nearly 11 p.m. ET as viewers chose to tune in for a possible last-ditch Lions rally in the fourth quarter. The game drew a combined 22.4 rating from Detroit audiences and a 29.1 rating in Chicago's market, as both numbers represented a drop from last season's Monday Night Football game held at Ford Field where the two team's drew 36.4 and 32.0 respectively.

The baseball game drew a strong 7.8 rating on FOX in Detroit, which clearly cut into some of the Monday Night Football numbers with Detroit Tigers fans likely tuning in to watch their upcoming opponent in the World Series. After posting an impressive 25.7 rating on ABC alone last season, the sharp decline down to a 15.1 rating in 2012 looks to be a result of how poorly the Lions have played this year.