FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Quarterback Tom Brady is not alone in setting records for the 2011 season. The New England Patriots set a new Designated Market Area (DMA) household (HH) television ratings record for Week 2 after establishing a Week 1 record.
The Patriots hosted the San Diego Chargers on Sept. 18 and drew a 35.3 HH rating in the Boston market, establishing a new Week 2 record for the organization. It surpassed the previous rating of 34.96 set last season against the New York Jets.
Along with the Patriots, three other NFL team's delivered record-setting Week 2 ratings in their home markets - Atlanta Falcons (33.6 HH rtg), Baltimore Ravens (32.8 HH rtg) and the Carolina Panthers (26.0 HH rtg). Furthermore, the NFL ranked number one in all 30 NFL DMA's for Week 2 and finished ahead of the Primetime Emmy's in every market, giving the league a perfect percentage through the first two weeks of the 2011 season.
Over 868,000 households in the Boston area tuned in to watch the broadcast on Sunday afternoon, the fourth highest total in the NFL for Week 2. The Boston market fell short of Philadelphia (1,011,000), Chicago (995,000), and New York (978,000) for the Giants game on Monday night.
On Monday, Sept. 12, the Patriots opened the 2011 season on the road against the Miami Dolphins and collected lofty ratings. The ESPN televised game earned a 10.6 rating nationally, consisting of an average of 10,493,000 households and a 37.1 household rating in the Boston area. The broadcast was the fourth largest audience for any cable program for 2011. The 37.1 rating broke the 35.1 mark set in 2009 against the Buffalo Bills for Week 1 household ratings.
The 2-0 Patriots will travel to Buffalo to face the 2-0 resurgent Bills in a highly-anticipated AFC East matchup on Sunday, Sept. 25. The action is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
PATRIOTS 2011 RATINGS IN BOSTON (MANCHESTER) TV MARKET
| Date | Opponent | Network | Boston TV | HH Rat | HH Share |
| 9/12 | @ Miami | ESPN | WBZ | 37.1 | 56 |
| 9/18 | San Diego | CBS | WCVB | 35.3 | 61 |
| Avg. 36.2 | 58.5 |
HIGHEST-RATED PATRIOTS REGULAR SEASON GAMES IN BOSTON TV MARKET
| Rank | Date | Opponent | HH Rat |
| 1 | 12/29/07 | @ New York Giants | 50.10 |
| 2 | 12/07/03 | Miami | 43.80 |
| 3 | 12/19/10 | Green Bay | 42.62 |
| 4 | 12/06/10 | New York Jets | 42.20 |
| 5 | 11/21/10 | Indianapolis | 42.04 |
