The NFL’s wild-card round averaged 28.3 million viewers across television and digital platforms, reflecting a 9.3% decrease from last year’s 31.2 million. The Sunday and Monday matchups saw the steepest declines, while Saturday games remained steady.
Streaming impacts and key matchups
Baltimore’s 28-14 win over Pittsburgh became Amazon Prime Video’s most-watched game, with 22.07 million viewers, despite a slight dip from last year’s Peacock viewership for the same round. The weekend’s most-watched game, Philadelphia’s victory over Green Bay, drew 35.6 million viewers on Fox, an 11% drop from last year’s Packers-Cowboys game.
Trends across other matchups
Other notable games included Buffalo’s blowout of Denver, which matched last year’s viewership, and Washington’s narrow win over Tampa Bay, which drew 26.2 million viewers but marked a 19% year-over-year decline.
Broader NFL season trends
While regular season games averaged 17.5 million viewers, marking the sixth-highest average since 1995, viewership declined 2% overall. Streaming services like Prime Video showed gains, while traditional platforms such as “Monday Night Football” on ESPN and ABC experienced declines, partly due to reduced simulcasts.
