The battle of the NFL's last two champions received higher ratings than the battle of two teams looking to become baseball's champion.

For the first time ever, an NFL game drew higher ratings than a World Series contest, as CNBC sports business reporter Darren Rovell tweeted that the Saints-Steelers matchup on NBC drew a 11.8 overnight rating on NBC compared to a 10.8 that FOX brought in for Game Four between the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers.

The way we see it

This was the first season the NFL chose to give NBC a prime-time game opposite the World Series, and the prime-time matchup between Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees captured more eyeballs than the Madison Bumgarner vs. Tommy Hunter pitching matchup in the Fall Classic. Not to sound like a broken record, but every week the NFL reports record-setting ratings, the proof that a lockout in 2011 would be a horrible idea becomes more obvious.