Must-see Bills smash NFL Wild Card Sunday viewership record

All eyes were on NFL quarterbacks Josh Allen and Trevor Lawrence on Wild Card Sunday.

CBS Sports reported that the Wild Card matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars set a record for the most-watched early Sunday window AFC matchup on record on any network.

The Numbers

The game averaged 32.710 million viewers, including a peak of 41.152 million, according to a post from CBS Sports PR.

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Viewership for this window of Wild Card Weekend was up 5% from last season, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

Josh Allen and Trevor Lawrence — Jan 11, 2026; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) after AFC Wild Card Round | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Record-breaking season

This follows "NFL on CBS" having its most-watched season through the Wild Card round on record, averaging 21.635 million viewers. It was the most-watched network package.

MORE: Second-place Bills still attracting America's attention at decade-high rates

The national game window at 4:25 PM on Sundays was the most-watched program, with Chiefs vs Cowboys on Thanksgiving being the most watched game of the 2025 season with 57.2 million views.

“NFL ON CBS” follows up its record-breaking regular season with the most-watched AFC Wild Card game in the early Sunday window on record

🏈 Bills-Jaguars averaged 32.710 million viewers, up +5%

🏈 Peaked with more than 41 million viewers pic.twitter.com/whI5OFurxy
— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) January 13, 2026

Josh Allen is Must See TV

While it makes sense to have a team from a big market like the Dallas Cowboys be associated with breaking viewership records, it's an incredible accomplishment to have Jacksonville and Buffalo associated with a playoff broadcast all-time high.

Despite the NFL playoffs missing out on the pedigree of quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow, viewership showed that Allen (and Lawrence) can more than hold their own as faces of the league that carry viewership numbers.

MORE: NFL schedule-makers 'rely on' Bills and Josh Allen to draw America's interest

What likely also helped the broadcast's numbers is the fact that the game remained close the entire time, with four lead changes in the fourth quarter alone.

Now playing on a Saturday afternoon for the Divisional Round, against a larger-market team in the Denver Broncos, the Bills will look to once again make broadcast history this weekend.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) calls a play during the first quarter of an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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