TV Ratings: AFC Divisional Shattered Records

The AFC Divisional Round playoff game between the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills shattered records as the most-watched Saturday NFL playoff game in history, with viewership peaking at over 51 million (specifically 51.3 million or 51.284 million in various reports) during the dramatic overtime period.

The Broncos emerged victorious in a thrilling 33-30 overtime win on January 18, 2026, at home in Denver, where kicker Wil Lutz's decisive field goal sealed the outcome and propelled the team to its first AFC Championship appearance in a decade. 

The game averaged 39.6 million viewers (or precisely 39.597 million per CBS and Nielsen data) across the broadcast on CBS, marking a 17% increase over the previous year's comparable Saturday divisional matchup (Texans-Chiefs, which drew 33.8 million).

This performance not only topped all prior Saturday NFL playoff games—surpassing the previous high of 37.5 million for Packers-49ers in 2024 (a primetime slot)—but also set broader benchmarks: it became the most-watched Saturday afternoon telecast in U.S. television history and the most-watched Saturday broadcast on any network since the 1994 Winter Olympics.

The overtime excitement, featuring high-stakes moments like a Josh Allen fumble and intense back-and-forth scoring, clearly drove the massive audience surge, underscoring the NFL's ongoing dominance in drawing viewers for postseason drama—even on a traditionally lower-viewership Saturday slot.

Fox had less luck with its Saturday night broadcast of the 49ers at the Seahawks, which turned into a lopsided 41–6 Seattle victory lacking the tension and excitement of the earlier matchup. The game drew an average of 32 million viewers, a 5% drop from the comparable Commanders-Lions divisional playoff game on Fox last year, marking the second consecutive year-over-year decline for that Saturday night window.