Nellie Andreeva

NFL football is expected to once again determine the ratings winner and runner-up on Sunday, with NBC logging another No. 1 finish with Sunday Night Football and Fox taking the silver thanks to a football overrun. But there was good news elsewhere too: CBS’ Undercover Boss got a Week 2 ratings bump, the network’s veteran crime drama CSI: Miami had a solid debut in its new Sunday 10 PM slot while ABC’s lineup held steady week-to-week.

NBC’s coverage of the New York Giants’ 17-3 victory over the Chicago Bears drew a 14.2 overnight rating/22 share, the best for an NFL primetime game in October since 2000. The network is expected to handily win Sunday night in both adults 18-49 and total viewers, with viewership for the game likely to exceed 20 million.

Without a football overrun-inflated 60 Minutes lead-in, CBS’ The Amazing Race (3.3/9) was down 13% from its 2-hour premiere last week. Undercover Boss (4.0/9), which featured its first female CEO last night, was up 5% from last week’s debut. At 10 PM, the season premiere of CSI: Miami (3.2/8) was down 26% from the last season debut in the Monday 10 PM slot but improved the Sunday time period by 52% vs. the season premiere of Cold Case last fall.

ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2.5/7) and Desperate Housewives (4.3/10) were flat from last week’s season premieres, a sold accomplishment in Week 2 when most series drop. (Desperate Housewives may inch up in the finals.) And at 10 PM, Brothers & Sisters (3.0/8) was up 3% but may slide in the finals as it also posted a 3.0 in the fast nationals last week before settling at 2.9.

Boosted by the football overrun, Fox’s The Simpsons (4.1/11) was up 11% from its season premiere. The Cleveland Show (3.1/8) was even with last week but continues to underperform between The Simpsons and Family Guy (3.9/9), which was down 13% from last week’s hourlong premiere. In all fairness, Cleveland faces kick-off time at NBC and is running higher than its spring ratings average. Launching at 9:30 PM was the new season of American Dad! (2.9/7), down 19% from last fall’s debut.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.