Denver Broncos wide receiver Eric Decker (87) is greeted by fans as he leaps into the stands after scoring a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints in the second quarter, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

RATINGS INDEX

The NFL avoided head-to-head Sunday battles with the World Series until 2010, partly by gentleman’s agreement and mostly because a few generations ago, it could have lost the TV ratings game.

Well, both theories are going, going, gone. The NFL’s Broncos-Saints match-up dwarfed MLB’s epic Detroit-San Francisco conclusion in the weekly ratings, from Fox’s Sunday first-place postgame show (22.1 million viewers) to NBC’s third place “Sunday Night Football” (17.77 viewers), according to Nielsen research. The fourth and final game of the World Series rated seventh with 15.5 million viewers. Perhaps most distressing for baseball is that it couldn’t maintain the viewership on Fox.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Pittsburgh (4-3) at N.Y. Giants (6-2). Giants QB Eli Manning and Steelers’ counterpart Ben Roethlisberger were selected just 10 spots apart in the 2004 draft. Since their arrival, they’ve played in five of eight Super Bowls and earned four titles. Manning has thrown for 29,880 yards and 197 touchdowns. Roethlisberger has passed for 28,566 yards and 179 TDs.

IOWA-CENTRIC

• Former College running back Fred Jackson needs nine rushing yards to join Thurman Thomas (11,938), O.J. Simpson (10,183) and Joe Cribbs (4,445) as only Buffalo Bills to reach 4,000. Since 2011, Jackson averages 113.8 yards from scrimmage, fourth-best in the NFL.
• Former ISU and current Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin has two sacks in the past two games against Baltimore.
• Oakland TE Brandon Myers (Iowa) already has notched career highs in catches (31) and yards (383).
• As of Thursday, Vikings LB Chad Greenway (Iowa) leads the NFL with 81 tackles.

ON THE TUBE

• Cardinals at Packers, noon, KFXA
• Broncos at Bengals, noon, KGAN
• Steelers at Giants, 3:25 p.m., KGAN
• Cowboys at Falcons, 7:20 p.m., KWWL