It’s a tough early slate for CBS: the Chiefs-Eagles match-up gets the widest distribution in the timeslot, across much of middle America and the Atlantic seaboard. But Titans-Jets is the most attractive battle, and draws the top crew of the early bill in Gumble-Dierdorf. Baltimore’s inevitable destruction of the Browns will be seen in only regional markets, as will the Jaguars-Texans battle.

 

There’s a lot of love this week for the Bungles: locked in a battle for life in the AFC North against the defending champs, the Cincy-Pittsburgh games earns CBS’s top tandem of Nantz-Simms, along with coverage across most of the eastern half of the country. We’l hear echoes of 1981 as Enberg-Fouts call the Fins-Flashes game, but only in the extremities of the nation. Denver-Oakland will be seen around almost half the country, but in few major media markets.

 

With just a single slot, either late or early, to broadcast its entire slate of games for the second straight week, the Fox broadcast map is a colorful collage that reminds us of the brown acid at Woodstock.

 

The attractive inter-conference Falcons-Patriots showdown earns the No. 1 crew of Buck-Aikman, and will be seen throughout most of the East Coast, along with Texas and the Plains and Mountain states (go figure that part). Giants-Bucs get the No. 2 team of Albert-Johnston-Siragusa, but only limited regional coverage.

 

Be thankful if you live in Detroit: the Redskins-Lions did not sell out, so you don’t have to watch it.

Instead, you get the 49ers-Vikings donnybrook. It’s the game of the week in our book. But apparently Fox does not feel the same way, because it's sending the D team (Rosen-Ryan) to call the battle.