There has been a lot of coverage regarding the NFL's slumping ratings, with a number of different reasons cited as the culprit. Some analysts believe a decline in play on the field is to blame, while others point to external factors, such as the election.

The NFL really isn't hurting; their numbers for regular season games easily exceed those in other leagues. And, at some point, they were destined to level off.

The concerns about viewership were alleviated yesterday, to a certain extent.

Thanks to a high-profile Sunday night matchup between the Seahawks and Patriots, the NFL grabbed its highest rated Week 10 primetime game in five years.

NBC announced that last night's game earned a 14.3 rating, 13 percent higher than 2015's Week 10 SNF matchup. It should be noted that last year's contest was between the Cardinals and Seahawks, two of the better NFC teams last season.

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League-wide increase

FOX also saw a jump in their numbers on Sunday. According to Michael Mulvihill of Fox Sports, the network had a 14.2 average rating on Sunday, 2.5 points ahead of last season's Week 10 statistics. This was led by the entertaining Steelers–Cowboys contest, which drew a 2016 season-leading 17.8 rating.

This seems to support the theory that the impending election led to lower ratings earlier in the season, but the boost is also driven mostly by the two games mentioned above.

Here's what yesterday proved: as long as the matchups are compelling, many, many people will tune in.