January 18 2023
https://thespun.com/nfl/heres-which-nfl-playoff-game-had-highest-ratings

1. Giants-Vikings: 33.2 million, close game
not decided 'til very late in the game, Vikings
open with a TD, Giants tie & then go ahead
& stay ahead 'til Vikings tie with 12:38 left in
the game; Giants re-take the lead with a TD
& 7:47 left in the game & after both teams ...

.... unable to score, Vikings last chance starts
at their 12 with 2:56 left in the game; Vikings
get to the 50 but on a 4th & 9, under pressure
Cousins tosses a short pass to Hockenson
who's tackled way short of a 1st down, put-
ting an end to the Vikings comeback.

2. Dolphins-Bills 30.8 million, close game
with Dolphins almost pulling off a surprising
upset.

3. Cowboys-Bucs: 30.6 million, one-sided
game dominated by Cowboys, Dak near-per-
fect in the game.

4. Seahawks-49ers: 27.4 million, after a Sea-
hawks comeback to lead at the half, 49ers
re-took the lead midway thru the 3rd quarter
& went on to a one-sided win.

5. Ravens-Bengals: 26.8 million, close game
which easily could've gone the other way, but
a critical fumble on a near-TD dive for the goal
line by Huntley, returned 98 yards for a Bengals
TD, Ravens last drive desperation pass in the
end zone bounced into a diving Raven's ...

.... extended hands but with just a microsec-
ond to adjust, not all-that-close to actually be-
ing caught, leaving the Ravens a TD short of
a tie / potential upset.

6. Chargers-Jaguars: 20.6 million (Trevor
Lawrence/Jaguars 1st half disaster, 4 inter-
ceptions trailing 27-0 near the end of the
1st half, followed by Trevor & the Jaguars
playing near-perfect for the rest of the game,
mounting the 3rd-largest comeback in NFL ...

.... playoff history to sneak out a 31-30 win;
unfortunate that this was the least watched
Wild Card game as in many ways, it was the
best most exciting game of all after Trevor
did whatever magic he & his head coach &
the rest of the team came up with to turn ...

.... things around, transitioning from a totally
dominated team to a totally dominant team.

--- --- ---

Follow-up:

Other links to TV ratings for the 6 Wild Card
games. Note that different entities may differ
in their TV ratings tabulations - I'm unsure of
which entit(y)(ies) provide(s) the 'official' TV
ratings or when & by whom (the NFL?) the
'official' TV ratings are announced:

On Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 1:22:45 PM UTC-6, observer wrote:

..> January 18 2023
..> https://thespun.com/nfl/heres-which-nfl-playoff-game-had-highest-ratings
..>
..> 1. Giants-Vikings: 33.2 million, close game
..> not decided 'til very late in the game, Vikings
..> open with a TD, Giants tie & then go ahead
..> & stay ahead 'til Vikings tie with 12:38 left in
..> the game; Giants re-take the lead with a TD
..> & 7:47 left in the game & after both teams ...

https://www.google.com/search?q=Giants+Vikings+TV+ratings
The New York Giants' 31-24 upset of the Minnesota
Vikings led all weekend programming with 33.21
million viewers for the 4:30 p.m. kickoff on Fox.

https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
Sunday’s wild-card games — played on the day
most people are used to NFL games — did even
better. The New York Giants’ 31-24 upset of the
Minnesota Vikings led all weekend programming
with 33.21 million viewers for the 4:30 p.m. kick-
off on Fox.

..>
..> ... unable to score, Vikings last chance starts
..> at their 12 with 2:56 left in the game; Vikings
..> get to the 50 but on a 4th & 9, under pressure
..> Cousins tosses a short pass to Hockenson
..> who's tackled way short of a 1st down, put-
..> ting an end to the Vikings comeback.
..>

..> 2. Dolphins-Bills 30.8 million, close game
..> with Dolphins almost pulling off a surprising
..> upset.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Dolphins+Bills+TV+ratings
Nationally, the game ended up as the most-watched
Sunday AFC wild-card game in nine years (30.6 mil-
lion viewers), with the audience peaking at 40 million
at one point. Locally, the 15.0 rating in Miami-Fort
Lauderdale (15 percent of homes with TV sets) was
the highest for a Dolphins game in at least four years.

https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
Buffalo eking out a 34-31 win over Miami in a 1 p.m.
game on CBS averaged 30.871 million viewers, which
the network said was the most-watched Sunday AFC
wild-card game in nine years.

..>
..> 3. Cowboys-Bucs: 30.6 million, one-sided
..> game dominated by Cowboys, Dak near-per-
..> fect in the game.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Cowboys+Buccaneers+TV+ratings
The Dallas Cowboys' win over the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers in the opening round of the National
Football League (NFL) playoffs reached 30.6
million combined viewers on Disney-owned
networks ESPN and ABC.

https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
Monday night’s playoff game betwixt the Cow-
boys and Buccaneers — perhaps Tampa Bay
quarterback Tom Brady’s final game — aver-
aged 30.6 million viewers on the Disney-owned
channels (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+). That
includes 1.7 million for Peyton and Eli Man-
ning’s alternative booth on ESPN2.

..>
..> 4. Seahawks-49ers: 27.4 million, after a Sea-
..> hawks comeback to lead at the half, 49ers
..> re-took the lead midway thru the 3rd quarter
..> & went on to a one-sided win.

https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
The 49ers’ 41-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks
(which averaged 27.46 million viewers for Fox’s
late afternoon kickoff) absolutely did look like
the more compelling game.

..>
..> 5. Ravens-Bengals: 26.8 million, close game
..> which easily could've gone the other way, but
..> a critical fumble on a near-TD dive for the goal
..> line by Huntley, returned 98 yards for a Bengals
..> TD, Ravens last drive desperation pass in the
..> end zone bounced into a diving Raven's ...
..>
..> ... extended hands but with just a microsec-
..> ond to adjust, not all-that-close to actually be-
..> ing caught, leaving the Ravens a TD short of
..> a tie / potential upset.

NFL wild-card weekend viewership numbers:
https://www.totalprosports.com/nfl/television-numbers-wild-card-weekend-absolute-massive

Giants-Vikings: 33.2 million
Dolphins-Bills 30.8 million
Cowboys-Bucs: 30.6 million
Seahawks-Niners: 27.4 million
Ravens-Bengals: 26.8 million
Chargers-Jaguars: 20.6 million

https://www.google.com/search?q=Cowboys+Buccaneers+TV+ratings
The wildest of the wild-card games may have
been Cincinnati’s 24-17 win over Baltimore,
which was played without Ravens quarterback
Lamar Jackson. Backup Tyler Huntley fumbled
trying to score with 11 minutes left and Bengals
defensive end Sam Hubbard took the ball a ...

.... playoff-record 98 yards for what proved to be
the winning score. The game averaged 28.6 mil-
lion viewers in prime time for NBC, the network
said.

..>
..> 6. Chargers-Jaguars: 20.6 million (Trevor
..> Lawrence/Jaguars 1st half disaster, 4 inter-
..> ceptions trailing 27-0 near the end of the
..> 1st half, followed by Trevor & the Jaguars
..> playing near-perfect for the rest of the game,
..> mounting the 3rd-largest comeback in NFL ...
..>
..> ... playoff history to sneak out a 31-30 win;
..> unfortunate that this was the least watched
..> Wild Card game as in many ways, it was the
..> best most exciting game of all after Trevor
..> did whatever magic he & his head coach &
..> the rest of the team came up with to turn ...
..>
..> ... things around, transitioning from a totally
..> dominated team to a totally dominant team.

https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
Lawrence finished the night with four touchdown
passes and an unlikely comeback win to wrap up
a Jekyll-and-Hyde evening that averaged 21.8 mil-
lion viewers for NBC’s prime-time broadcast.

..>
..> *--- --- ---*

On Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 9:53:53 PM UTC-5, observer wrote:
> Follow-up:
>
> Other links to TV ratings for the 6 Wild Card
> games. Note that different entities may differ
> in their TV ratings tabulations - I'm unsure of
> which entit(y)(ies) provide(s) the 'official' TV
> ratings or when & by whom (the NFL?) the
> 'official' TV ratings are announced:
>
> On Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 1:22:45 PM UTC-6, observer wrote:
>
> .> January 18 2023
> .> https://thespun.com/nfl/heres-which-nfl-playoff-game-had-highest-ratings
> .>
> .> 1. Giants-Vikings: 33.2 million, close game
> .> not decided 'til very late in the game, Vikings
> .> open with a TD, Giants tie & then go ahead
> .> & stay ahead 'til Vikings tie with 12:38 left in
> .> the game; Giants re-take the lead with a TD
> .> & 7:47 left in the game & after both teams ...
>
> https://www.google.com/search?q=Giants+Vikings+TV+ratings
> The New York Giants' 31-24 upset of the Minnesota
> Vikings led all weekend programming with 33.21
> million viewers for the 4:30 p.m. kickoff on Fox.
>
> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
> Sunday’s wild-card games — played on the day
> most people are used to NFL games — did even
> better. The New York Giants’ 31-24 upset of the
> Minnesota Vikings led all weekend programming
> with 33.21 million viewers for the 4:30 p.m. kick-
> off on Fox.
>
> .>
> .> ... unable to score, Vikings last chance starts
> .> at their 12 with 2:56 left in the game; Vikings
> .> get to the 50 but on a 4th & 9, under pressure
> .> Cousins tosses a short pass to Hockenson
> .> who's tackled way short of a 1st down, put-
> .> ting an end to the Vikings comeback.
> .>
>
> .> 2. Dolphins-Bills 30.8 million, close game
> .> with Dolphins almost pulling off a surprising
> .> upset.
>
> https://www.google.com/search?q=Dolphins+Bills+TV+ratings
> Nationally, the game ended up as the most-watched
> Sunday AFC wild-card game in nine years (30.6 mil-
> lion viewers), with the audience peaking at 40 million
> at one point. Locally, the 15.0 rating in Miami-Fort
> Lauderdale (15 percent of homes with TV sets) was
> the highest for a Dolphins game in at least four years.
>
> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
> Buffalo eking out a 34-31 win over Miami in a 1 p.m.
> game on CBS averaged 30.871 million viewers, which
> the network said was the most-watched Sunday AFC
> wild-card game in nine years.
>
> .>
> .> 3. Cowboys-Bucs: 30.6 million, one-sided
> .> game dominated by Cowboys, Dak near-per-
> .> fect in the game.
>
> https://www.google.com/search?q=Cowboys+Buccaneers+TV+ratings
> The Dallas Cowboys' win over the Tampa Bay
> Buccaneers in the opening round of the National
> Football League (NFL) playoffs reached 30.6
> million combined viewers on Disney-owned
> networks ESPN and ABC.
>
> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
> Monday night’s playoff game betwixt the Cow-
> boys and Buccaneers — perhaps Tampa Bay
> quarterback Tom Brady’s final game — aver-
> aged 30.6 million viewers on the Disney-owned
> channels (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+). That
> includes 1.7 million for Peyton and Eli Man-
> ning’s alternative booth on ESPN2.
>
> .>
> .> 4. Seahawks-49ers: 27.4 million, after a Sea-
> .> hawks comeback to lead at the half, 49ers
> .> re-took the lead midway thru the 3rd quarter
> .> & went on to a one-sided win.
>
> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
> The 49ers’ 41-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks
> (which averaged 27.46 million viewers for Fox’s
> late afternoon kickoff) absolutely did look like
> the more compelling game.
>
> .>
> .> 5. Ravens-Bengals: 26.8 million, close game
> .> which easily could've gone the other way, but
> .> a critical fumble on a near-TD dive for the goal
> .> line by Huntley, returned 98 yards for a Bengals
> .> TD, Ravens last drive desperation pass in the
> .> end zone bounced into a diving Raven's ...
> .>
> .> ... extended hands but with just a microsec-
> .> ond to adjust, not all-that-close to actually be-
> .> ing caught, leaving the Ravens a TD short of
> .> a tie / potential upset.
>
> NFL wild-card weekend viewership numbers:
> https://www.totalprosports.com/nfl/television-numbers-wild-card-weekend-absolute-massive
>
> Giants-Vikings: 33.2 million
> Dolphins-Bills 30.8 million
> Cowboys-Bucs: 30.6 million
> Seahawks-Niners: 27.4 million
> Ravens-Bengals: 26.8 million
> Chargers-Jaguars: 20.6 million
>
> https://www.google.com/search?q=Cowboys+Buccaneers+TV+ratings
> The wildest of the wild-card games may have
> been Cincinnati’s 24-17 win over Baltimore,
> which was played without Ravens quarterback
> Lamar Jackson. Backup Tyler Huntley fumbled
> trying to score with 11 minutes left and Bengals
> defensive end Sam Hubbard took the ball a ...
>
> ... playoff-record 98 yards for what proved to be
> the winning score. The game averaged 28.6 mil-
> lion viewers in prime time for NBC, the network
> said.
>
> .>
> .> 6. Chargers-Jaguars: 20.6 million (Trevor
> .> Lawrence/Jaguars 1st half disaster, 4 inter-
> .> ceptions trailing 27-0 near the end of the
> .> 1st half, followed by Trevor & the Jaguars
> .> playing near-perfect for the rest of the game,
> .> mounting the 3rd-largest comeback in NFL ...
> .>
> .> ... playoff history to sneak out a 31-30 win;
> .> unfortunate that this was the least watched
> .> Wild Card game as in many ways, it was the
> .> best most exciting game of all after Trevor
> .> did whatever magic he & his head coach &
> .> the rest of the team came up with to turn ...
> .>
> .> ... things around, transitioning from a totally
> .> dominated team to a totally dominant team.
>
> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
> Lawrence finished the night with four touchdown
> passes and an unlikely comeback win to wrap up
> a Jekyll-and-Hyde evening that averaged 21.8 mil-
> lion viewers for NBC’s prime-time broadcast.
>
> .>
> .> *--- --- ---*

Monday night’s playoff game betwixt the Cow-
boys and Buccaneers — perhaps Tampa Bay
quarterback Tom Brady’s final game — aver-
aged 30.6 million viewers on the Disney-owned
channels (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+). That
includes 1.7 million for Peyton and Eli Man-
ning’s alternative booth on ESPN2

Idiot. Facts are wrong.

Better go for a 3rd repost and more.

Follow-up 2: One clarification on Ravens @
Bengals game:

On Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 8:53:53 PM UTC-6, observer wrote:

..> Follow-up:
..>
..> Other links to TV ratings for the 6 Wild Card
..> games. Note that different entities may differ
..> in their TV ratings tabulations - I'm unsure of
..> which entit(y)(ies) provide(s) the 'official' TV
..> ratings or when & by whom (the NFL?) the
..> 'official' TV ratings are announced:
> On Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 1:22:45 PM UTC-6, observer wrote:
/> .> January 18 2023
/> .> https://thespun.com/nfl/heres-which-nfl-playoff-game-had-highest-ratings
/> .>
/> .> 1. Giants-Vikings: 33.2 million, close game
/> .> not decided 'til very late in the game, Vikings
/> .> open with a TD, Giants tie & then go ahead
/> .> & stay ahead 'til Vikings tie with 12:38 left in
/> .> the game; Giants re-take the lead with a TD
/> .> & 7:47 left in the game & after both teams ...
..> https://www.google.com/search?q=Giants+Vikings+TV+ratings
..> The New York Giants' 31-24 upset of the Minnesota
..> Vikings led all weekend programming with 33.21
..> million viewers for the 4:30 p.m. kickoff on Fox.
..>
..> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
..> Sunday’s wild-card games — played on the day
..> most people are used to NFL games — did even
..> better. The New York Giants’ 31-24 upset of the
..> Minnesota Vikings led all weekend programming
..> with 33.21 million viewers for the 4:30 p.m. kick-
..> off on Fox.
/> .>
/> .> ... unable to score, Vikings last chance starts
/> .> at their 12 with 2:56 left in the game; Vikings
/> .> get to the 50 but on a 4th & 9, under pressure
/> .> Cousins tosses a short pass to Hockenson
/> .> who's tackled way short of a 1st down, put-
/> .> ting an end to the Vikings comeback.
/>
/> .> 2. Dolphins-Bills 30.8 million, close game
/> .> with Dolphins almost pulling off a surprising
/> .> upset.
..> https://www.google.com/search?q=Dolphins+Bills+TV+ratings
..> Nationally, the game ended up as the most-watched
..> Sunday AFC wild-card game in nine years (30.6 mil-
..> lion viewers), with the audience peaking at 40 million
..> at one point. Locally, the 15.0 rating in Miami-Fort
..> Lauderdale (15 percent of homes with TV sets) was
..> the highest for a Dolphins game in at least four years.
..>
..> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
..> Buffalo eking out a 34-31 win over Miami in a 1 p.m.
..> game on CBS averaged 30.871 million viewers, which
..> the network said was the most-watched Sunday AFC
..> wild-card game in nine years.
/> .>
/> .> 3. Cowboys-Bucs: 30.6 million, one-sided
/> .> game dominated by Cowboys, Dak near-per-
/> .> fect in the game.
..> https://www.google.com/search?q=Cowboys+Buccaneers+TV+ratings
..> The Dallas Cowboys' win over the Tampa Bay
..> Buccaneers in the opening round of the National
..> Football League (NFL) playoffs reached 30.6
..> million combined viewers on Disney-owned
..> networks ESPN and ABC.
..>
..> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
..> Monday night’s playoff game betwixt the Cow-
..> boys and Buccaneers — perhaps Tampa Bay
..> quarterback Tom Brady’s final game — aver-
..> aged 30.6 million viewers on the Disney-owned
..> channels (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+). That
..> includes 1.7 million for Peyton and Eli Man-
..> ning’s alternative booth on ESPN2.
/> .>
/> .> 4. Seahawks-49ers: 27.4 million, after a Sea-
/> .> hawks comeback to lead at the half, 49ers
/> .> re-took the lead midway thru the 3rd quarter
/> .> & went on to a one-sided win.
..> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
..> The 49ers’ 41-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks
..> (which averaged 27.46 million viewers for Fox’s
..> late afternoon kickoff) absolutely did look like
..> the more compelling game.
/> .>
/> .> 5. Ravens-Bengals: 26.8 million, close game
/> .> which easily could've gone the other way, but
/> .> a critical fumble on a near-TD dive for the goal
/> .> line by Huntley, returned 98 yards for a Bengals
/> .> TD, Ravens last drive desperation pass in the
/> .> end zone bounced into a diving Raven's ...
/> .>
/> .> ... extended hands but with just a microsec-
/> .> ond to adjust, not all-that-close to actually be-
/> .> ing caught, leaving the Ravens a TD short of
/> .> a tie / potential upset.

On a slow-motion replay of that pass, a Ravens
player (James Proche II) dived for the ball as he
was waiting for the ball behind Raven Demarcus
Robinson & Raven Mark Andrews & 4 Bengals
defenders but I don't think he was able to get
his hands on the ball. It was tipped by Bengals'
CB Mike Hilton.

..>
..> NFL wild-card weekend viewership numbers:
..> https://www.totalprosports.com/nfl/television-numbers-wild-card-weekend-absolute-massive
..>
..> Giants-Vikings: 33.2 million
..> Dolphins-Bills 30.8 million
..> Cowboys-Bucs: 30.6 million
..> Seahawks-Niners: 27.4 million
..> Ravens-Bengals: 26.8 million
..> Chargers-Jaguars: 20.6 million
..>
..> https://www.google.com/search?q=Cowboys+Buccaneers+TV+ratings
..> The wildest of the wild-card games may have
..> been Cincinnati’s 24-17 win over Baltimore,
..> which was played without Ravens quarterback
..> Lamar Jackson. Backup Tyler Huntley fumbled
..> trying to score with 11 minutes left and Bengals
..> defensive end Sam Hubbard took the ball a ...
..>
..> ... playoff-record 98 yards for what proved to be
..> the winning score. The game averaged 28.6 mil-
..> lion viewers in prime time for NBC, the network
..> said.
/> .>
/> .> 6. Chargers-Jaguars: 20.6 million (Trevor
/> .> Lawrence/Jaguars 1st half disaster, 4 inter-
/> .> ceptions trailing 27-0 near the end of the
/> .> 1st half, followed by Trevor & the Jaguars
/> .> playing near-perfect for the rest of the game,
/> .> mounting the 3rd-largest comeback in NFL ...
/> .>
/> .> ... playoff history to sneak out a 31-30 win;
/> .> unfortunate that this was the least watched
/> .> Wild Card game as in many ways, it was the
/> .> best most exciting game of all after Trevor
/> .> did whatever magic he & his head coach &
/> .> the rest of the team came up with to turn ...
/> .>
/> .> ... things around, transitioning from a totally
/> .> dominated team to a totally dominant team.
..> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
..> Lawrence finished the night with four touchdown
..> passes and an unlikely comeback win to wrap up
..> a Jekyll-and-Hyde evening that averaged 21.8 mil-
..> lion viewers for NBC’s prime-time broadcast.
/> .>
/> .> \*---~---~---*/

(corrected re-post fixing one of the links to
the Ravens wildest loss to the Bengals:
https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/ )

Follow-up 2: One clarification on Ravens @
Bengals game:

On Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 8:53:53 PM UTC-6, observer wrote:

..> Follow-up:
..>
..> Other links to TV ratings for the 6 Wild Card
..> games. Note that different entities may differ
..> in their TV ratings tabulations - I'm unsure of
..> which entit(y)(ies) provide(s) the 'official' TV
..> ratings or when & by whom (the NFL?) the
..> 'official' TV ratings are announced:

> On Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 1:22:45 PM UTC-6, observer wrote:

/> .> January 18 2023
/> .> https://thespun.com/nfl/heres-which-nfl-playoff-game-had-highest-ratings
/> .>
/> .> 1. Giants-Vikings: 33.2 million, close game
/> .> not decided 'til very late in the game, Vikings
/> .> open with a TD, Giants tie & then go ahead
/> .> & stay ahead 'til Vikings tie with 12:38 left in
/> .> the game; Giants re-take the lead with a TD
/> .> & 7:47 left in the game & after both teams ...

..> https://www.google.com/search?q=Giants+Vikings+TV+ratings
..> The New York Giants' 31-24 upset of the Minnesota
..> Vikings led all weekend programming with 33.21
..> million viewers for the 4:30 p.m. kickoff on Fox.
..>
..> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
..> Sunday’s wild-card games — played on the day
..> most people are used to NFL games — did even
..> better. The New York Giants’ 31-24 upset of the
..> Minnesota Vikings led all weekend programming
..> with 33.21 million viewers for the 4:30 p.m. kick-
..> off on Fox.

/> .>
/> .> ... unable to score, Vikings last chance starts
/> .> at their 12 with 2:56 left in the game; Vikings
/> .> get to the 50 but on a 4th & 9, under pressure
/> .> Cousins tosses a short pass to Hockenson
/> .> who's tackled way short of a 1st down, put-
/> .> ting an end to the Vikings comeback.
/>
/> .> 2. Dolphins-Bills 30.8 million, close game
/> .> with Dolphins almost pulling off a surprising
/> .> upset.

..> https://www.google.com/search?q=Dolphins+Bills+TV+ratings
..> Nationally, the game ended up as the most-watched
..> Sunday AFC wild-card game in nine years (30.6 mil-
..> lion viewers), with the audience peaking at 40 million
..> at one point. Locally, the 15.0 rating in Miami-Fort
..> Lauderdale (15 percent of homes with TV sets) was
..> the highest for a Dolphins game in at least four years.
..>
..> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
..> Buffalo eking out a 34-31 win over Miami in a 1 p.m.
..> game on CBS averaged 30.871 million viewers, which
..> the network said was the most-watched Sunday AFC
..> wild-card game in nine years.

/> .>
/> .> 3. Cowboys-Bucs: 30.6 million, one-sided
/> .> game dominated by Cowboys, Dak near-per-
/> .> fect in the game.

..> https://www.google.com/search?q=Cowboys+Buccaneers+TV+ratings
..> The Dallas Cowboys' win over the Tampa Bay
..> Buccaneers in the opening round of the National
..> Football League (NFL) playoffs reached 30.6
..> million combined viewers on Disney-owned
..> networks ESPN and ABC.
..>
..> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
..> Monday night’s playoff game betwixt the Cow-
..> boys and Buccaneers — perhaps Tampa Bay
..> quarterback Tom Brady’s final game — aver-
..> aged 30.6 million viewers on the Disney-owned
..> channels (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+). That
..> includes 1.7 million for Peyton and Eli Man-
..> ning’s alternative booth on ESPN2.

/> .>
/> .> 4. Seahawks-49ers: 27.4 million, after a Sea-
/> .> hawks comeback to lead at the half, 49ers
/> .> re-took the lead midway thru the 3rd quarter
/> .> & went on to a one-sided win.

..> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
..> The 49ers’ 41-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks
..> (which averaged 27.46 million viewers for Fox’s
..> late afternoon kickoff) absolutely did look like
..> the more compelling game.

/> .>
/> .> 5. Ravens-Bengals: 26.8 million, close game
/> .> which easily could've gone the other way, but
/> .> a critical fumble on a near-TD dive for the goal
/> .> line by Huntley, returned 98 yards for a Bengals
/> .> TD, Ravens last drive desperation pass in the
/> .> end zone bounced into a diving Raven's ...
/> .>
/> .> ... extended hands but with just a microsec-
/> .> ond to adjust, not all-that-close to actually be-
/> .> ing caught, leaving the Ravens a TD short of
/> .> a tie / potential upset.

On a slow-motion replay of that pass, a Ravens
player (James Proche II) dived for the ball as he
was waiting for the ball behind Raven Demarcus
Robinson & Raven Mark Andrews & 4 Bengals
defenders but I don't think he was able to get
his hands on the ball. It was tipped by Bengals'
CB Mike Hilton.

..>
..> NFL wild-card weekend viewership numbers:
..> https://www.totalprosports.com/nfl/television-numbers-wild-card-weekend-absolute-massive
..>
..> Giants-Vikings: 33.2 million
..> Dolphins-Bills 30.8 million
..> Cowboys-Bucs: 30.6 million
..> Seahawks-Niners: 27.4 million
..> Ravens-Bengals: 26.8 million
..> Chargers-Jaguars: 20.6 million
..>
..> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
..> The wildest of the wild-card games may have
..> been Cincinnati’s 24-17 win over Baltimore,
..> which was played without Ravens quarterback
..> Lamar Jackson. Backup Tyler Huntley fumbled
..> trying to score with 11 minutes left and Bengals
..> defensive end Sam Hubbard took the ball a ...
..>
..> ... playoff-record 98 yards for what proved to be
..> the winning score. The game averaged 28.6 mil-
..> lion viewers in prime time for NBC, the network
..> said.

/> .>
/> .> 6. Chargers-Jaguars: 20.6 million (Trevor
/> .> Lawrence/Jaguars 1st half disaster, 4 inter-
/> .> ceptions trailing 27-0 near the end of the
/> .> 1st half, followed by Trevor & the Jaguars
/> .> playing near-perfect for the rest of the game,
/> .> mounting the 3rd-largest comeback in NFL ...
/> .>
/> .> ... playoff history to sneak out a 31-30 win;
/> .> unfortunate that this was the least watched
/> .> Wild Card game as in many ways, it was the
/> .> best most exciting game of all after Trevor
/> .> did whatever magic he & his head coach &
/> .> the rest of the team came up with to turn ...
/> .>
/> .> ... things around, transitioning from a totally
/> .> dominated team to a totally dominant team.

..> https://theathletic.com/4104169/2023/01/18/nfl-wild-card-playoffs-ratings/
..> Lawrence finished the night with four touchdown
..> passes and an unlikely comeback win to wrap up
..> a Jekyll-and-Hyde evening that averaged 21.8 mil-
..> lion viewers for NBC’s prime-time broadcast.

/> .>
/> .> \*---~---~---*/