The Week 11 AFC showdown between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs drew the biggest television audience for an NFL regular season game in 17 years, not including holiday games.
According to USA Today, the 4:25 PM EST kickoff on CBS garnered 31.2 million viewers.
It’s the most viewers for a regular season game since 2007 when Tom Brady and the New England Patriots went toe-to-toe with Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9. Both of those teams were 8-0.
17 years later, the world got the new version of the Brady-Manning rivalry with Josh Allen’s Bills facing Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs. The Chiefs entered the game 9-0 while the Bills were 8-2.
With the Bills win, Allen and Mahomes are now 4-4 against each other, with many close games, monumental moments, and highlight-reel plays. The NFL would be happy with the TV ratings if these teams met again in the playoffs this season.
CBS also recorded its biggest regional window audience since 1992 in Week 11, attracting 19.8 million viewers for the Ravens-Steelers matchup.
Safe to say it was a great day for the NFL and its fans.