Tag: divisional round

Niners-Seahawks set for Saturday of divisional round; game times TBA

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks will play for the second time in 14 days on Saturday, while the Chicago Bears will host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in the NFL divisional round, the league announced Sunday evening.

While the time slots and network designations for next weekend’s action have not yet been announced, the league announced that the Seahawks, the top seed in the NFC, will host the sixth-seeded 49ers and the AFC’s sixth-seeded Buffalo Bills will play at the No. 1 seed Broncos in Denver on Saturday.

The second-seeded Bears will host the No. 5 seed Rams in the other NFC divisional game and the No. 2 seed New England Patriots will host the winner of Monday night’s Pittsburgh-Houston matchup in the other AFC divisional game on Sunday.

Saturday’s games will be played at 4:30 and 8 p.m. ET while Sunday’s slate is scheduled for 3 and 6:30 p.m. ET.

The Seahawks and 49ers split their regular-season series, with Seattle winning in Week 18 to clinch the NFC’s top seed. Seattle is looking to advance to its first NFC Championship Game since the 2014 season while San Francisco would make its fourth appearance in the last five seasons with a victory.

Buffalo, fresh off a win at Jacksonville, has its eyes set on its second straight AFC Championship Game appearance and is two wins away from its first Super Bowl appearance since 1993. Denver is looking to make its first conference championship game since the last time it won a Super Bowl in the 2015 season.

Chicago, which rallied to beat Green Bay for its first playoff win since January 2011, would advance to the NFC Championship Game for the first time in the same span if it can beat the Rams, who are looking for their first conference title game appearance since the 2021 season, the last time they won a Super Bowl.

–Field Level Media

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen reads off the play in the huddle during first half action at the Buffalo Bills divisional game against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Jan. 19, 2025.

NFL’s ratings slide continues through divisional playoffs

Posted on | by Field Level Media

An action-packed Sunday that featured two divisional-round playoff games didn’t prevent the NFL from seeing its ratings decline even further.

The Bills hosted the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC affair that kicked off at 6:30 p.m. ET, with an average of 42.2 million viewers tuning into Buffalo’s 27-25 victory. It marked a 16 percent drop in audience size compared to the divisional game that ran in the same time slot last year.

Granted, the meeting between the Bills and Ravens had some stiff competition, as the divisional game in the nighttime slot last season was a battle between Buffalo and the Chiefs that Kansas City won 27-24. An average of 50.4 million viewers saw that one, making it the most-watched divisional-round game in NFL history.

In other action Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles topped the visiting Los Angeles Rams 28-22 in an NFC matchup that totaled 37.8 million viewers. That game started at 3 p.m. ET and couldn’t generate the audience of 40.4 million that tuned into the comparable game in 2024 — marking a six percent drop.

Still, Philadelphia’s victory over the Rams ended up having the fourth-best rating in NBC history for a divisional playoff game, according to Nielsen.

Viewership had also been down during the regular season, the wild-card round of the playoffs and the other divisional games.

–Field Level Media

Jan 21, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) greets Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) following the 2024 AFC divisional round game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Divisional games average record 40 million viewers

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The NFL’s divisional round drew an average of 40 million viewers, highlighted by the Kansas City Chiefs-Buffalo Bills matchup on CBS that was the most watched divisional or wild-card game on record at 50.4 million.

The average viewership for the divisional round was the highest since 1988 and increased by 7 percent over last year.

Among the 126.7 million total viewers last weekend, 37.5 million tuned in to see the Green Bay Packers play the San Francisco 49ers on Fox, making it the most-watched NFL playoff game ever on a Saturday.

The Chiefs travel to face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game on CBS, followed by the Detroit Lions visiting the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game on Fox.

–Field Level Media