NFL Wild-Card Round Draws 28.3 Million Viewers, Down 9.3% From Last Year

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrates triumphantly following his team's victory in an NFL wild-card playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

By  NEWS BLEND 360

Updated 1:45 PM EST, January 16, 2025

The NFL playoffs kicked off with a fumble in viewer numbers, dropping 9.3% from last year. Looks like even the fans decided to take a timeout!

According to the league and Nielsen, the six wild-card games pulled in an average of 28.3 million viewers, compared to last year's 31.2 million. Maybe some fans were too busy trying to figure out how to pronounce "Nielsen" correctly.

Saturday's games held steady, but Sunday and Monday decided to join a witness protection program.

The big news? Audiences have finally figured out how to stream games! Baltimore's 28-14 win over Pittsburgh drew 22.07 million viewers on Amazon Prime Video, setting a new record. Take that, Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers!

It was a slight 3% drop from last year's 23 million average on Peacock for the Miami-Kansas City showdown. Maybe some folks were busy peacocking around instead.

The weekend's MVP was Philadelphia's 22-10 victory over Green Bay on Fox, with 35.6 million viewers. But even that was an 11% decline from the Packers-Cowboys game. Guess cheeseheads need more cheese.

Washington's 23-20 comeback against Tampa Bay was the wild-card round's nail-biter, averaging 26.2 million on NBC. Unfortunately, it was down 19% from last year's Rams-Lions game. Maybe folks were too busy biting their nails.

Houston's 32-12 triumph over the Chargers on CBS averaged 25.6 million, just 1% off from last year's Browns-Texans game. Close enough to call it a draw!

Buffalo's 31-7 demolition of Denver pulled 31.1 million viewers on CBS, matching last year's Steelers-Bills game that got snowed out to Monday. It's a tie, folks!

The Rams' 27-9 victory over Minnesota on Monday night averaged 25.3 million on ESPN and ABC, down 13% from last year's Eagles-Buccaneers game. Apparently, viewers decided to ramble elsewhere.

The league averaged 17.5 million during the regular season. While it was the sixth-highest since 1995, it still slipped 2% from 2023. Maybe viewers are just tired of the same old plays.

Prime Video's “Thursday Night Football” was up 11%, but “Monday Night Football” on ESPN and ABC took a 14% hit. Fewer ABC simulcasts meant more folks were left scratching their heads on Monday nights.