The NFL Doesn’t Need a Ratings Boost, But It’s About to Get One

1. Here in New York, it feels like the only thing being talked about by every single person is the massive storm we are supposed to get this weekend.

Over the last couple of days, the weather experts have told us that the storm, which is expected to be a combination of snow, ice and freezing cold temperatures, will be begin Sunday morning and last through Monday.

While this is terrible news for any of us who will get walloped by the weather, this is euphoria for the NFL.

The last thing the NFL needs is help with ratings, but you can take it to the bank that the league, along with CBS and Fox, couldn’t be happier that people in several states will be trapped in their homes on Sunday when the AFC and NFC championship games take place.

But it’s a different kind of championship weekend.

The Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes and Taylor Swift aren’t here. Josh Allen isn’t here. Lamar Jackson isn’t here. Joe Burrow isn’t here. The defending champion Eagles aren’t here. The big-market Bears aren’t here.

Quarterbacks are always the top draw and this round features Matthew Stafford, Sam Darnold, Jarrett Stidham and Drake Maye. That’s not a great quartet, outside of maybe Stafford, to bring in the fringe fan.

Last year’s NFC championship game between the Commanders and Eagles drew 44.2 million viewers for Fox in the early window.

The Bills-Chiefs AFC title game pulled in a whopping 57.4 million viewers for CBS in the late window.

Given that Nielsen now has a new method for how it measures viewers, which has led to increases across the board for all sports in recent months, plus the hazardous weather that’s expected, I don’t think you’ll see much of a drop-off this week.

I think Pats-Broncos in the early window for CBS will top the 44.2 million that Fox generated in that time slot last year for Washington-Philadelphia.

I don’t think Rams-Seahawks can surpass the 57.4 million K.C.-Buffalo viewership number, because that’s just a gigantic task. The snowstorm that will keep people indoors isn’t as big a factor as the Taylor Swift effect. But the gap between the 2026 viewership and 2025 viewership for the late game will be much narrower thanks to the storm.

Rams-Seahawks won’t get to 57.4 million, but I think it can get to 52-53 million viewers.

2. Since I regularly call out people in sports media for horrible takes, it’s only fair I acknowledge my own embarrassments.

Here’s what I wrote in Monday’s Traina Thoughts:

“I’m not sure there’s a dumber piece of scheduling in all of sports than college football playing its championship game tonight.

The game should have been played Friday, leading into the massive NFL weekend. Instead, they’re playing the game tonight as a complete afterthought with no buzz and no juice. Sean McDermott will get more attention than Miami and Indiana in the hours leading up to the title game.”

Well, Indiana’s win over Miami drew 30.1 million viewers for ABC/ESPN.

It was the most watched college football game since the inaugural College Football Playoff championship in 2015 between Oregon and Ohio State, which pulled in 33.9 million viewers.

3. With the college football and NFL seasons basically done, NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC returns this weekend with a tripleheader featuring Knicks-Sixers at 3 p.m., Warriors-Timberwolves at 5:30 p.m. and Lakers-Mavericks at 8:30 p.m.

The most important thing about the return of NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC is that we’ll finally be seeing more of Inside the NBA, which has been so scarce this season that even Charles Barkley is complaining about not working enough. Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Barkley will handle the pregame show, halftime show and postgame each Saturday night.

4. If you listened to this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina with Scott Van Pelt (see below), you heard me tell Van Pelt that I’d love to see some sports shows that don’t have an ex-athletes on them because ex-athletes are too soft on current athletes.

Cut to ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky. On Monday, Orlovsky said the Texans would’ve beaten the Patriots on Sunday if they had any of the other 31 starting quarterbacks in the NFL.

On Thursday, Orlovsky APOLOGIZED for the comment. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Orlovsky’s original comment. Stroud was beyond horrific in that game. There was nothing wrong with saying that.

I should’ve been better pic.twitter.com/zJ7ZkrOW9R
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) January 22, 2026

5. Here’s a look ahead to what the betting line will be for the Super Bowl. If you’re a Jarrett Stidham believer, jump on the Broncos now when value will be at its highest.

Potential Super Bowl matchups. Lines up at ⁦@SuperBookNV⁩ ⁦@WestgateVegas⁩ pic.twitter.com/81lc1zlmwE
— Bill Krackomberger (@BillKrackman) January 21, 2026

6. This week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt.

Van Pelt talks about whether he will be moving into ESPN’s 5 p.m. slot that used to be occupied by Around the Horn, the pros and cons of that time slot and how close his former partner, Ryen Russillo, came to returning to ESPN and joining him for a new show.

In addition, Van Pelt talks about the controversy involving Jacksonville reporter, Lynn Jones, complimenting Liam Coen during a press conference, going through a health scare years ago, his addiction to Diet Coke, his favorite Bad Beat of 2025, Super Bowl betting and much more.

Following Van Pelt, SNY's Sal Licata joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss dealing with the cold weather, reactions to my recent podcast interviews with Mike Tirico and Laura Rutledge, the problem with NFL television rules analysts, the NFL conference championship games and Sal’s new show.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Here’s one for old-school WWE fans. I don’t remember ever seeing this before until it popped up on my TikTok For You Page last night. I miss ridiculous storylines like this.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.