First Call: Steelers-‘MNF’ ratings tank. O.J. Simpson defends Saquon Barkley. Terry Bradshaw's new TV show.

The Steelers. Plus, a New York audience. That should jolt “Monday Night Football” ratings to open the season!

Guess again, ESPN.

That’s how we start Thursday’s “First Call.” We also see how O.J. Simpson is supporting Saquon Barkley. And we preview Terry Bradshaw’s new television show.

Where’s the remote?

A lot of Steelers fans liked what they saw on “Monday Night Football.” Unfortunately, not a lot of people were watching it.

The ratings for “Monday Night Football” had a steep drop from last year. The Steelers’ 26-16 win over the New York Giants drew 10.8 million viewers, down 17% from last year’s 7 p.m. game for “MNF.” That 2019 contest featured the New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans.

The opening week late game between the Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos fell 27% (7.7 million viewers) from last year’s late game between the Raiders and Denver Broncos. 

The numbers are actually worse than they appear, especially when you consider a few other factors.

• This year’s early game featured a New York City team and the Steelers — a team with a huge national following.

• Given coronavirus restrictions, that’s 82,000 New Yorkers barred from MetLife Stadium. Not to mention bars and restaurants that weren’t open to host large viewing parties for the game.

• So-called “out-of-home” viewers are now accounted for in the ratings process for the first time.

With all those factors baked into the equation, that makes things look even worse from a national perspective.

In Pittsburgh, the disparity wasn’t so bad. Based on numbers I obtained from multiple sources at WTAE — who had the rights for the game — the numbers were mixed.

These numbers are from Monday night in New Jersey versus the “MNF” game between the Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 30, 2019.

The 2020 overall household rating dropped from 29.0 to 25.9. But ratings for the “persons 25-54” demographic went up from 15.9 to 18.3. The male 25-54 rating jumped from 17.5 to 20.1.

No fans in the stands makes the broadcast feel fake? Yup. I bet that contributes to the dip.

Are we out of the sports-viewing habit following the coronavirus shutdown? Reorganized priorities? Too much social justice programming? Cord cutting? Youthful disinterest in sports? Parents passing out early after homeschooling all day?

There’s probably truth in all of that.

Terry on TV

Speaking of the Steelers on TV, Terry Bradshaw’s new reality show premieres on Thursday night at 9 p.m. on “E!”

It’s called “The Bradshaw Bunch.” And it’s pretty much exactly what you expect.

Dingy Bradshaw puttering around his ranch in Oklahoma, while his three camera-friendly daughters keep you entranced with their first world problems.

It’s blonde Kardashians, with horses. Presumably.

Enjoy the mind candy. And try to remember while watching, this is the same guy.

Super Bowl IX
Super Bowl X
Super Bowl XIII
Super Bowl XIV

Terry Bradshaw's trophy case is pretty full. #HappyBirthday pic.twitter.com/ICoHTGCJ8o

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 3, 2018

Supporting Saquon

During that Monday night game, the Steelers held Giants star running back Saquon Barkley to a scant six yards on 15 carries.

The Penn State product received some criticism for that statistic and other areas of his game across various sports platforms.

One barb that resonated in New York came from former Giants star RB Tiki Barber.

"Saquon Barkley is a great back, but he might not be an every down back. He cannot pass protect. It's becoming glaring & could become a liability"@TikiBarber says Saquon needs to vastly improve his pass-blockinghttps://t.co/XPocW1rdxt pic.twitter.com/qigna0i9Gm

— TikiAndTierney (@TikiAndTierney) September 15, 2020

Guess who came charging to Barkley’s defense. Hall of Fame running back and well-known … um … actor O.J. Simpson.

“He didn’t have a chance,” Simpson exclaimed in a Twitter video. “I, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders. None of us could’ve gained yards!”

Simpson accused the Giants of failing to attack the Steelers defensive front with enough straight-ahead, power blocking.

“(The Giants coaches) need to give Saquon a fullback. They need to give him a running start at that line,” Simpson continued. “Double-team blocks. Stop with this fancy scheme crap. And start hitting people.”

Well, the Steelers defense might be good enough that it just doesn’t matter. But, in theory, Simpson makes a decent point.

Well said, Juice. I agr… (clears throat). I agrrrrr… I’ll try again.

O.J., you are rrrrriii…

I can’t say it. Let’s move on.

Somebody help him out

Former New York Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson signed with the Carolina Panthers this offseason.

During Game 1 of the NFL season, he was caught on a live mic asking one of his teammates about “Sir Purr,” the dancing Carolina Panthers mascot.

“You call him that?...”pic.twitter.com/lsukoHkFFt

— Chris Mack (@THEChrisMack) September 16, 2020

“What’s that bear doing?” he asked.

Bear? Does Anderson think he is playing in Chicago? Bear?!

Dude … YOU PLAY FOR THE PANTHERS! The guy is wearing a black panther cost …

… never mind.

Conference expansion?

On Wednesday, the Associated Press was eager to announce that the Big Ten was going to reboot a college football schedule in October.

So eager, that when the AP tweeted its story, it attached a photo of Louisiana State winning last year’s national championship trophy.

BREAKING: Big Ten Conference reverses course, announces plans to play football beginning Oct. 24 weekend; 8-game season for each team. https://t.co/1LWQYpBx3z

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) September 16, 2020

As you may know, LSU plays in the SEC.

If the Big Ten is annexing LSU, that may be a bigger deal than the conference starting football in the fall.