Apparently there isn’t much national appeal to watching Derek Anderson make his first career start for the Buffalo Bills.
When Anderson, a 13-year veteran who signed with Buffalo on Oct. 9, leads the Bills (2-4) into action against the Indianapolis Colts (1-5), only fans living in the Buffalo and Indianapolis television markets will get to watch the game as CBS’ featured 1 p.m. Eastern telecast.
This matchup between sub-.500 teams doesn’t carry much national intrigue, continuing a recent theme for the Bills. As was the case with Buffalo’s Week 5 home game against the Tennessee Titans, and the Week 6 road game against the Houston Texans, broadcast coverage of Sunday’s Bills/Colts showdown will be limited to the local markets.
CBS’ No. 6 broadcasting team of Spero Dedes (play-by-play) and Adam Archuleta (analyst) will handle the Bills/Colts clash.
The areas that can see Buffalo are highlighted in blue (map courtesy of 506sports):
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Most of the national audience gets to watch Tom Brady and the New England Patriots travel to the Chicago Bears (in red), while the other 1 p.m. CBS telecast pits the Houston Texans against the Jacksonville Jaguars (in green).
This will be the 70th meeting all-time between these former AFC East rivals. Buffalo leads the all-time series 37-31-1, including prevailing 13-7 in overtime at snowy New Era Field on Dec. 10, 2017, a game the Bills won when LeSean McCoy rambled in from 21 yards out late in the overtime period.
The last time the Bills traveled to Indianapolis, the Colts pulled out a 20-13 win on Nov. 25, 2012.