Chiefs-Bills game tops TV ratings for NFL's historic divisional round

Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Sunday's thrilling postseason matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills was the most-watched NFL divisional playoff game on any network in five years, it was announced Tuesday.

The Chiefs' dramatic 42-36 overtime win over the Bills averaged 42.7 million viewers Sunday, according to figures released by ViacomCBS. The network said the game peaked with 51.6 million viewers, marking the second consecutive week that CBS' primetime NFL game topped the 50-million viewer mark.

The Chiefs-Bills showdown had the largest audience for an NFL divisional playoff game since the Green Bay Packers-Dallas Cowboys matchup on Jan. 15, 2017, which attracted 48.5 million viewers.

Sunday's Chiefs-Bills contest also was up 18% compared with last year's comparable game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints, which brought in 36.3 million viewers.

Meanwhile, CBS' Cincinnati Bengals-Tennessee Titans divisional game drew a smaller audience of 30.8 million viewers, up 13% versus last year's comparable game.

On FOX, Saturday's primetime game between the San Francisco 49ers and Packers drew 36.9 million viewers, climbing 40% over the comparable 2021 game.

NBC's Sunday afternoon divisional game, which saw the Los Angeles Rams defeat Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had a total audience delivery of 40 million viewers across multiple platforms. That figure makes it the most-watched NFL game on NBC -- excluding Super Bowls -- since the debut of Sunday Night Football in 2006.