Titans-Bengals TV Audience was Smallest of Dramatic NFL Weekend
All four of the NFL’s divisional playoff games over the weekend were worth watching.
Three ended on game-winning field goals as time expired, beginning with the Tennessee Titans’ 19-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday. The fourth, the Sunday night matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, included three touchdowns and a field goal in the final 1:54 of regulation followed by overtime, when the Chiefs scored to earn a spot in the AFC Championship for the fourth straight year.
As it turned out, fewer saw the Titans’ game than any of the other three. Still, it was a big draw.
The contest averaged 30.75 million viewers, according to reports, which was the largest audience for a divisional playoff game in that time slot since 2016 when the Chiefs and New England Patriots averaged 31.5 million. It also was an increase of 16 percent over last season’s game at the same time, the Los Angeles Rams versus the Green Bay Packers, according to SportsMediaWatch.com.
Viewership for the Titans-Bengals game peaked at 38.36 million.
The television audience grew with each successive game throughout the weekend.
A rundown of the average viewership for each of last weekend’s four NFL divisional playoff games:
• Kansas City vs. Buffalo, Sunday evening – 42.74 million
• Tampa Bay vs. L.A. Rams, Sunday afternoon – 38.14 million
• Green Bay vs. San Francisco, Saturday evening – 36.92 million
• Tennessee vs. Cincinnati, Saturday afternoon – 30.75 million
Combined, the four games averaged 37.14 million viewers, which was a 21 percent increase from last year’s divisional round when three of the four games were decided by 10 points or more. The other was Kansas City’s 22-17 victory over Cleveland, a game the Chiefs led by 16 at halftime.
