NBC's "Sunday Night Football" is up 12% to 21.8 million viewers in the U.S. ESPN's "Monday Night Football" is pulling in 14.7 million viewers, a 17% gain. Yes part of NBCs package. NFL Games Ranked as 48 of the Top 50 Shows on TV During 2021 Regular Season, 370 Billion Total Minutes Consumed Throughout 2021 Regular Season . Copyright 2023. The 2021 NFL regular season averaged 17.1 million viewers (TV and Digital) the highest regular-season average since 2015 and up more than 10% from 2020. For the first time, each NFL team played 17 regular season games, providing fans with an extra week of regular season NFL action. Buffalo -- 47.16 2. The six games averaged 30.5 million viewers, an increase of 21% from the 2020-21 NFL Wild Card Weekend and the most-watched first weekend of postseason football since 2015-16. Green Bay -- 41.57 4. That was an especially big week for NFL ratings, as the game Dallas played against Kansas City just four days prior took the No. According to Sports Media Watch, the game drew the lowest ratings for a championship bout in the league since Super Bowl III between the then-Baltimore Colts and New York Jets. After NBC cashed in with a massive audience for the NFL Kickoff Game, its numbers dipped on Sunday Night Football. These are the TV households for every NFL team: Giants (7.5 million) Jets (7.5 million) Rams (5.7 million) Chargers (5.7 million) Bears (3.5 million) Eagles (3.0 million) Cowboys (3.0. After a strong start for the network to open the 2022 NFL season, things are steadily trending down. delivered the largest audience of Week 18, scored the NFLs largest singleheader audience in seven years, outdrew all three of the NFLs Christmas Day games. Putting the 5.81 million viewers into perspective, take a look at how NBA games on Christmas Day 2021 performed. The largest Week 1 total since 2016. The ratings from the Week 7 broadcast are down, but that can be attributed to the matchup. Cleveland -- 35.197. The Manningcast will be back for NFL Week 8, with the New York Giants facing the Kansas City Chiefs. Of course, that money will be passed on to those competing on the field and thats why you see contracts for the highest paid NFL players skyrocketing. Round 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft averaged 10.03 million viewers with a 5.6 rating. The second most-watched was Super Bowl XLVII between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos in February of 2014. We'll revisit these Power Rankings quarterly, during the season. Exclusively broadcasted on NFLF Network and its streaming services, the Colts-Cardinals broadcast averaged 12.62 million viewers. Viewers: The number of viewers aged 2+ viewing the game in the average minute. The NFL released its numbers for Super Bowl LVI between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams. These are also the early numbers from non-adjusted affiliates, so the ratings will change when everything is finalized. That specific Super Bowl matchup saw Joe Montana and the 49ers defeat John Elways Denver Broncos by the score of 55-10, the biggest blowout in the history of the big game. "This year's schedule, highlighted by an enhanced regular season featuring 17 games, gave our broadcast partners the ability to provide fans with more football and incredible matchups than ever. New York and Chicago the countrys largest and third-largest TV markets present a different story. The most-watched Sunday prime-time game was when the Washington Football Team and Dallas Cowboys battled for the NFC East title in Week 17 of the 2012 campaign. Yes, all Nielsen figures cited here include same-day DVR. Seattle played without Russell Wilson and the Saints offense isnt what it used to be with Drew Brees retired. And on a second unrelated item. Super Bowl LV (Chiefs-Buccaneers): 91.63 million, NFC Championship Game (Buccaneers-Packers): 44.77 million, AFC Championship Game (Bills-Chiefs): 41.85 million, NFC Playoffs (Buccaneers-Saints): 35.46 million, NFC Playoffs (Rams-Packers): 26.5 million, AFC Playoffs (Browns-Chiefs): 34.33 million, AFC Playoffs (Ravens-Bills): 26.34 million. The Chargers posted the leagues biggest increase, as the teams games in the Los Angeles market jumped by 25% over last season. Full participants list: Click here. On Monday night, ESPNs broadcast and stream pulled in 12.52 million viewers (SportsMediaWatch). 2020 against the previous low year of 2017, there is a YTD increase of 0.1% [total difference is 0.5M]. What we do know is that the 2021 NBA Finals between the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks and upstart Phoenix Suns did not draw great ratings. The FOX broadcast finished with a 12.6 rating, one of its best numbers of the year, and it averaged a whopping 24.37 million viewers. The only community-owned team in the NFL showed just how important it is to the Green Bay area by ranking highest when it came to Local TV ratings. Again, Nielsen uses sampling data to calculate the audience, meaning that your viewing of a sporting event outside of your home does not count unless you are in a Nielsen family.. With the league struggling revenue-wise due to COVID-19, seeing one of the lowest-rated Super Bowls in NFL history cant be seen as a great thing. Just a season ago, when the Cowboys failed to make the playoffs, Dallas had the leagues 17th-highest rating. That included the San Francisco 49ers thrilling road win over the Dallas Cowboys being the most-watched NFL Wild Card Game since 2015. It represented an 11% spike from a Cardinals-Cowboys clash during the same week in 2020, though it was a dip from numbers seen in 2019. Atlanta -- 14.5227. Round 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft averaged 10.03 million viewers with a 5.6 rating. Provided below is the list of the Top 10 most-watched NFL games during the 2021 regular season: Las Vegas Raiders vs. Dallas Cowboys (Week 12, CBS) - 40.8 million Dallas Cowboys vs. Kansas City. As if a memorable weekend of playoff football couldnt get any better for the NFL, it did following the release of TV ratings. The NFL has owned Thanksgiving for years, becoming part of the tradition for families on Thursday. The Denver Broncos sold for a record $4.65 billion this year, in large part because billionaires recognize this is the most popular sport in America and its a business that keeps generating record-setting profits each year. But even in NYC and LA, where they follow the entertainment business like they follow the NFL in Kansas City and Buffalo, the local teams out-rate the Oscars -- the Super Bowl of Showbiz -- nationally. The three most-watched drafts in NFL history have occurred in the last three years: 2019 (6.2 million), 2020 (8.3 million), 2021 (6.1 million).. As Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated also points out, a Saturday preseason game between the Steelers and Seattle Seahawks broadcasted on NFL Network pulled in a larger audience than Foxs broadcast of the Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees. 3 led to continued uptick in viewership with the annual event seeing its third-highest ratings ever. Upgrade your subscription to get all the news you need: Adding SBJ weekly content will give you the comprehensive view of sports business with: Adding SBJ daily content will give you the comprehensive view of sports business with: The Chargers just missed making the playoffs, but local ratings for the teams games still rose 25% over the previous season. Bookmark this page for NFL TV ratings for information on the 2022 season and moving forward. The electrifying Odell Beckham, Jr. of the Giants, and his battles with Washington's new cornerback, Josh Norman, helped lead the team to ninth place in the category. NFL Networks broadcast of the Washington Football Team and New England Patriots game on Aug. 12 drew the highest TV ratings for a preseason game on the flagship station since all the way back in 2018. While it was a dip from the Bills-Chiefs Week 5 game, that is partially due to the absence of Russell Wilson. In comparison to the 2019 Pro Bowl, viewership dropped 17% (8.05 million). The NFLs three Thanksgiving Day games delivered record audiences (with the caveat that out-of-home viewing was not tracked prior to two years ago), led by Giants-Cowboys at more than 42 million viewers on FOX. Speaking of ESPN, per Sports Media Watch, the Monday Night Football ratings made it the least-watched MNF game in Week 16 since 2018. According to Sports Media Watch, viewership for Day 2 of the NFL Draft sat at 5.03 million with a 3.0 rating. After hearing complaints about the Pro Bowl for years, the NFL dramatically changed how it holds its version of the All-Star Game. Then when I click on the Next button on the bottom, it just takes me back to the page I started from. The Giants and Jets had top 10 finishes in the social media category as well. The only exception was the series finale of M.A.S.H. Throughout the season, there were 370 billion total minutes consumed which is up +18% vs. 2020 and the second-highest total on record behind only 2015. Meanwhile, the game drew a record streaming audience of 11.2 million through Peacock and other streaming services. The 2021 NFL season continues to pull in excellent numbers, even when the matchups arent ideal from a fan-interest perspective. Washington -- 16.6425. The Chiefs-Ravens game drew a 10% spike in viewership compared to the preliminary numbers for the SNF debut. Daily updates aggregating the stories and spin from more than 600 outlets across the globe. It was the most-watched Week 4 MNF game since 2018. In total, 15.29 million viewers tuned in. NFL TV ratings also have an impact on other things related to league operations. ESPN's Monday Night Football saw an increase of 16% over the 2020 regular season, leading the way as all NFL regular-season games saw a 10% boost in TV ratings year over year. Its another win for the NFL, which continues to see its TV ratings steadily climb this season. Moving forward, the NFL may attempt to feature teams like the Cowboys, New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers to aid ratings for the SNF opener. New England -- 31.478. Players will also benefit from this. Jacksonville -- 19.6722. Washington Examiner. Per a league press release, the 2021 NFL Draft was seen by an average audience of 6.1 million viewers (TV and digital) across NFL Network, ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes and digital channels during the three-day event, making it the third most-watched draft ever, NFL Media noted. That's the question that faced us as we put together this year's ranking of all 32 NFL teams based on talent under 25 years old. Access is available for NFL Network subscribers of participating TV providers. And remember, these ratings . 2023 NFL free agency: Ranking best free agent crops from every team as Eagles, Bills lead top-heavy list All the free agent crops ranked with the new league year set to begin in March To help develop Drake Maye and the Heels' quarterbacks, Mack Brown is bringing in one of the NFL's most accomplished quarterbacks coaches. NFL TV ratings also have an impact on other things related to league operations. Conference Championship Sunday AFC Championship Game, CBS - Bengals vs Chiefs - 53.124 million avg. Monday night in week 1 had only one game vs the usual two MNF games in week 1. That game drew 30.3 million viewers. As of August 31, 2020, all Nielsen figures include out-of-home viewing. The Giants and Jets had top 10 finishes in the social media category as well. The NFL remains on top in a down year, and The CW's 'All American' is the only series to increase both its total audience . Philadelphia -- 25.4116. The 2021 NFL regular season averaged 17.1 million viewers (TV+Digital) the highest regular season average since 2015 and up +10% vs. 2020. The Week 3 Sunday Night Football clash between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers will go down as one of the best NFL games in 2021. After seeing its viewership drop during the 2020 season, the National Football League is faring much better this fall. Unsurprisingly, the NFL TV ratings are easily outpacing anything Major League Baseball is generating in terms of viewership. More changes will come, but its unlikely any of it makes a difference. The NFL TV ratings during the regular season once again prove that football is the most popular thing on television. We saw NFL TV ratings in 2021 climb, with the leagues broadcasting partners and advertisers very happy with the returns. Kansas City -- 45.28, 3. New England -- 31.47 8. Also of note, just seven of NBCs Sunday night broadcasts averaged 17-plus million viewers last season. Nielsen uses a separate total viewing figure to estimate how many viewers watched at least six minutes of any given telecast. viewers per game. For the first time, each NFL team played 17 regular season games, providing fans with an extra week of regular season NFL action. According to SportsMediaWatch, the Thursday Night Football opener averaged an estimated 7.33 million viewers on the NFLs exclusive TV network. The Las Vegas Raiders stunning and drama-filled win over the Baltimore Ravens represented the most-watched Week 1 Monday Night Football Game since all the way back in 2013. On the NFL's 100th anniversary list of the 100 greatest teams in NFL history, the club came in at number 15. With the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers set to face off on NBC in Week 3, its safe to project the audience size will be strong. When I click on Load Comments button on the NFL ratings page, the only comments that show up are three of my old ones from last season. The Broncos do have to see Mahomes and the Chiefs twice, but they play only four top-10 FPI teams and get the extra home game for being in the AFC. Its a slight dip from the 1.89 million that ESPN2 pulled in Week 3 (1.89 million), but greater than what ESPN2 would bring in on a normal night. Thats what happens when you pit the GOAT QB in Brady against the NFLs highest-paid player in 2021 in Prescott, who also happens to play for the most valuable sports franchise. In what cant be considered too much of a surprise, this led to historical ratings for NBCs broadcast of the Week 4 Sunday Night Football tilt. A total of 7.31 million viewers tuned in to the Pittsburgh Steelers win over the Dallas Cowboys earlier in August, marking the highest-rated preseason broadcast since all the way back in 2017. Will be updated as the season progresses. Its a steep fall from the historic pull generated by Tom Bradys return to Gillette Stadium, but NBC and the NFL continue to dominate whenever games are broadcasted. It was the most-watched Week 4 MNF game since 2018. https://twitter.com/CBSSportsGang/status/1564618648429395974?s=20&t=d__mH136DLpY8AHYzlBHaQ, NFL trade rumors: Latest on Aaron Rodgers, Tee Higgins and more, Top NFL free agents of 2023: From 1-400, Derek Carr, Bobby Wagner join growing market, Bold sports 2023 predictions: Future for Nets, Yankees, Tom Brady, Shohei Ohtani, Super Bowl and more, New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys game sets NFL regular-season viewership record, Pro Football Hall of Fame 2022: Class of inductees, how to watch and more, NFL reportedly generated record-setting $11 billion in national revenue last season, NFL Sunday Ticket: Pricing, how to buy, and its future, 2023 USFL teams, coaches, and star players, Predicting NFL playoff bracket and Super Bowl 2024 winner, most-watched NFL Wild Card Game since 2015, Dallas-Tampa Bay 15.9 overnight rating was up 16% from 2020s opener, the NFLs highest-paid player in 2021 in Prescott, the Wall Street Journal reported this past weekend, Philadephia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys (Dec. 24), Green Bay Packers vs Miami Dolphins (Dec. 25), Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Chargers vs Indianapolis Colts, 12% viewership spike compared to 2021 game (Bears vs Lions), Largest audience for an early Thanksgiving game in NFL history. You have 2 All Access articles remaining this month. It marks a 14% increase from the total viewership from last years Week 3 game. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2022/01/24/In-Depth/NFL-Local-Ratings.aspx. Tom Brady's return to Gillette. This just goes to show us that the NFL is still Americas pastime. His rise from 23rd in 2021 to 11th in 2022 in the QB expected points added per play rankings constituted the NFL's fifth-biggest improvement, according to Ben Baldwin's database.Jones threw less . For Week 7, the Manningcast will return to ESPN2 and ESPN+, with Peyton and Eli Manning hosting the simulcast for the New Orleans Saints vs Seattle Seahawks matchup. New York and Los Angeles occupy the final four spots, seemingly indifferent to football (or at least to their local teams) compared to the rest of the country. A rematch of the AFC Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs delivered more strong NFL TV ratings for the league and NBC. At a time when pulling in massive audiences is more important than ever and the league explores ways to further increase its revenue, an early look at NFL TV ratings from the preseason show why this remains the No. This site has focused on the up-and-down NFL TV ratings for the 2020 season. As for NBCs Sunday Night Football, it drew its smallest audience in terms of average NFL TV ratings in three years for a Week 16 game. After a strong finish to the regular season, the presence of marquee teams and legendary quarterbacks in the NFL Playoffs have provided a boost for viewership. While the change itself generated mostly positive feedback from those in attendance, it didnt seem to help the NFL TV ratings. Get NFL news, scores, stats, standings & more for your favorite teams and players -- plus watch highlights and live games! The NFL scored across-the-board increases for its Sunday games in Week 13 of the season, while Thursday Night Football neared the ten million viewer mark for Bills-Patriots. All things considered, the NFL and NBC will still be pleased to open the 2022 season with a broadcast for a preseason game featuring backups and fringe NFL roster candidates averaging 5.8 million viewers. We can also compare that to MLB, which drew just under 3.2 million viewers for its Field of Dreams game on Fox. Can you explain the meaning behind the +/- for the rating and the viewers? The Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eaglestwo larger-market teams that missed the postseasonstill scored wins despite less-than-stellar records. Madden NFL 23 Official NFL Team Ratings. That continues a theme that affects local TV ratings more than any other factor: Teams that do well on the field get higher ratings than the teams that dont. In the final minutes of the Chiefs' 42-36 overtime slaying of the Bills, 90 percent of the TVs turned on in Kansas City and Buffalo were watching the game. Even on a Championship Sunday without Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and even the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL TV ratings from the conference championship matchups exploded. The past 12 NBA Finals games have seen a total of 106 million viewers tune in on television and through streaming services. TV networks are feeling the strains of disappointing NFL ratings, as they are forced to restructure deals with advertisers to make up for the smaller audience, and their opportunity to make money off remaining games during the lucrative holiday season narrows, the Wall Street Journal reported this past weekend. For the Dallas Cowboys, individual rankings didnt matter much, as the team finished no less than second in four out of five categories (with a field goals worth of No. The pandemic coupled with an election year and political divisiveness around the United States played a major role in this. All professional sports franchisesnot just NFL teamshave an increasing ability to leverage different forms of media in order to connect with, activate and grow their respective fan bases. Its the second-most watched Championship Sunday since 2015 and both broadcasts are the most-watched programs since Super Bowl LV. Meanwhile, the game drew a record streaming audience of 11.2 million through Peacock and other streaming services. New Orleans -- 40.895. In what cant be considered too much of a surprise, this led to historical ratings for NBCs broadcast of the Week 4 Sunday Night Football tilt. The four-win New York Jets actually saw a TV ratings increase of 8%, but their 7.12 local rating is the leagues lowest. Here is a sampling of those horrible numbers via Sports Media Watch: The 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged 953,000 viewers across NBC's TV and digital platforms. While NFL TV ratings increased during the 2021 season, the league didnt see that upward trajectory continue with the 2022 NFL Draft. For comparison, $20.1 million watched the Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints game in the same time slot last Christmas. Assessing every team's starting QB. Ourand noted that the rating figure doesnt include out-of-home viewing. Ourand noted that the rating figure doesnt include out-of-home viewing. The all-time record was Super Bowl XLIX with 114.4 million back in January of 2015. Carolina -- 19.1423. A brief explainer of TV ratings, using the Bills-Rams NFL Kickoff Game. To put this into perspective, the 2021 NBA Finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns drew an average of 9.91 million viewers (more on that later). The entire NFL Playoffs have been a huge draw, averaging 36.3 million viewers. The NBA owned Christmas for many years, with many effectively viewing NBA games on Christmas Day as the unofficial start of each basketball season. These ratings consider not just talent under 25 but also the . Seattle -- 31.419. In advance of Super Bowl LVII, here are the NFL TV ratings from the postseason. On NBC in Week 6, the SNF broadcast averaged `6.28 million viewers with a 9.0 rating. With an unusually strong slate of games, the NFL TV ratings on Thanksgiving provided even stronger returns than some might have expected. Week 4 concluded with ESPNs Monday Night Football broadcast, which averaged 12.6 million (Sports Media Watch) to watch the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers. On NBC in Week 6, the SNF broadcast averaged `6.28 million viewers with a 9.0 rating. One of the roughest stories is in Pittsburgh. It was just the seventh Super Bowl with less than a 40 rating, and the first since 1990 (49ers-Broncos: 39.0) snapping a 30-year streak.. Broadcasted on ESPN and ABC, the Pro Bowl games averaged 6.28 million viewers for a 6% drop from the ratings for the 2022 Pro Bowl. I feel bad . Meanwhile, Thursday Night Football scored a multi-month high of Titans-Packers. 100 million viewers tuned in during the three-day opening slate. All Nielsen figures include streaming viewership through virtual MVPDs (ex. (this excludes ALL the Thu night games & Special games as that is tracked separately). Much of the revenue for the NFL is generated by its TV contracts. Chicago -- 22.15, 18. The indices of all five categories were then aggregated into an overall Nielsen Media Exposure Index, utilizing a weighting system according to the categorys exposure potential.. Cincinnati -- 28.85 12. Ill see what I can do. In 2020, the SNF opener between the Cowboys and Rams averaged 18.94 million viewers with a 10.4 rating. Strange circumstances brought Martin and Malzahn together, but now the pair are united for a second time. The entire 2020 preseason was canceled due to COVID-19 and fans were desperate for some football action. Miami -- 11.84, 2019 March Madness national championship: 11.6, 29. Whether its the ongoing pandemic or something else, said decline forced networks to scramble and strengthen relationships with sponsors. NFL Media announced that its nationally-broadcasted games are averaging 17.3 million viewers per game (TV and digital), a 17% increase from the 2020 season. Minnesota -- 28.8911. 2020-21 TV Ratings: Complete 7-Day Ratings for Broadcast Network Series. Streaming, betting companies bolster NFL ad market, Measure of Success: Churchill Downs Race Tracks Sponsorship Strategy Sponsored by IEG, The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast: Episode 76 -- RSN Armageddon, Up and Down: Womens hoops on ESPN, WBD RSNs, Pac-12 rights and LIV Golf, Who's Up and Down: Adam Silver, Fox's NASCAR ads, Major League Baseball. NFL In the world of TV ratings, the NFL remains in a league of its own The NFL's viewership is so far ahead of any other sport, any comparison is pointless. Its a slight dip from the 1.89 million that ESPN2 pulled in Week 3 (1.89 million), but greater than what ESPN2 would bring in on a normal night. LA Chargers -- 8.4931. Monday Night Football was already the lesser football package for NFL games and the decline in viewership didnt help in 2020. A lot of this could have had to do with the game itself. Also of note, Monday Night Football had its most-watched season opener since the year 2000. The Week 1 primetime clash between the Rams and Bears averaged 17.6 million viewers and finished with a 9.6 rating. Twenty-five points scored after the final 2-minute warning. Explore what consumers are watching, playing and listening to around the world. For comparison, the 2020 TNF opener between the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals averaged 6.68 million viewers. During the 2021 NFL regular season, there were 34 games decided by a game-winning score on the final play the most in a single season all-time while 49 games were decided by a game-winning score in the final minute of regulation or overtime tied for the most in a single season all-time. Best of all for the network, it was the most-watched Week 3 game since 2015 and marked the third consecutive week NBC drew 20-plus million viewers on Sunday night. Meanwhile, the rest of Week 12 was a quieter draw. Just makes more sense to list what the primary game telecasts were than to include all of them. It is the second-least watched Hall of Fame Game in a decade, but theres a reason for it. Despite Buffalo and Kansas City not being huge markets, the early numbers for the Week 5 Sunday Night Football clash saw an average of 16.78 million viewers with a primetime rating of 4.8 among the 18-49 demo. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Leaders Group. It looks like your browser does not have JavaScript enabled. Its the second-most watched Championship Sunday since 2015 and both broadcasts are the most-watched programs since Super Bowl LV. Its the second-largest audience for the National Football League since 2015. Its not close. 100 million viewers tuned in during the three-day opening slate. For each category, an NFL team average was calculated and the relative scores of each NFL team were indexed against the average. Competing against the Winter Olympics certainly didnt help. Its important to put these numbers into perspective. FOX topped the charts with more than 24 million viewers for its late doubleheader window, which featured the 49ers rout of the Buccaneers in most markets. In a season where 21 of the leagues 32 teams posted local TV ratings increases, the performance of the two teams in Los Angeles stood out. Using the average # of MNF viewers from other weeks [excluding opening week] as a substitute for those negatively impacted weeks, the total viewing numbers would be around 4M higher. The Week 3 Sunday Night Football clash between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers will go down as one of the best NFL games in 2021. Said game peaked at 50.23 million viewers toward the end. You can see the full list of games on the NFL TV schedule here: https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/nfl-tv-schedule-2021-fox-nbc-cbs-espn-tnf-snf-mnf/, Simplistic view, thru week 11, 2021 using Mr. Ps numbers. It was just the seventh Super Bowl with less than a 40 rating, and the first since 1990 (49ers-Broncos: 39.0) snapping a 30-year streak.. All things considered, the NFL and NBC will still be pleased to open the 2022 season with a broadcast for a preseason game featuring backups and fringe NFL roster candidates averaging 5.8 million viewers. This 49ers team is one of the greatest NFL teams of all time based solely on star power. The game also came to a culmination on this touchdown pass from Raiders quarterback Derek Carr in overtime. NBC averaged 22.8 million viewers for its two games, an increase of 11% from last season. During the 2021 NFL regular season, NFL games ranked as the top 16, 48 of the top 50 and 91 of the top 100 telecasts on TV. "Featuring incredible play on the field and close contests, the 2021 regular season proved to be one of the most exciting and exhilarating of all-time," said Hans Schroeder, NFL Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, NFL Media.