Getty Images

TV ratings were down sharply for the wild card round of the playoffs, but the NFL is still emphasizing its strong ratings relative to everything else on TV.

The four wild card games were down 13 percent from last year’s ratings, and last year was down from the year before. That’s not a great sign for the league.

But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is emphasizing that the NFL still out-draws other sports and entertainment on American television.

“I think dominance of the NFL in television is still very clear,” Goodell said, adding that NFL games were 37 of the 50 most-watched programs in 2017.

Goodell is right that the league is dominant on television but how long can that remain the case as ratings keep declining? Eventually, the NFL needs to reverse this trend. This year’s playoffs don’t seem to be the time when that will happen.