Chiefs' win over Ravens is most watched AFC title game ever

However, while it's not exactly dampening CBS (and parent company Paramount's) excitement over such a big Sunday, Jon Lewis of the esteemed Sports Media Watch added more context to the eye-popping audience numbers:

"Keep in mind out-of-home viewing was not included in Nielsen final nationals prior to 2020 (or measured at all prior to 2016). As a result, any number of AFC title games from past years — particularly Patriots-Chiefs in 2019 (53.90M), Patriots-Broncos in 2016 (53.30M) and the aforementioned Jets-Steelers game — likely had more viewers all things being equal. The 25.5 household rating, which by definition does not include out-of-home viewing, was the highest for an AFC title game since Patriots-Chiefs in 2019 (27.5)."

Regardless, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't watch any part of Championship Sunday. The Chiefs' win was followed by the San Francisco 49ers capturing their eighth NFC title in a comeback win over the Detroit Lions, helping Fox record its most-watched non-Super Bowl game in twelve years.

Though some "extremely online" people may feel that Taylor Swift and her massive fan base are responsible for the record viewership, the truth is that Kansas City itself is currently the country's biggest draw, led by who is perhaps the biggest star in the NFL today in quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He's easily taken the mantle once held by current and former contemporaries in Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers as the one networks and NFL fans want to see the most, even in a game outside of the primetime window.

CBS will put a bow on its 2023 NFL coverage with the upcoming Super Bowl, a rematch of the game three years earlier between the Chiefs and Niners. With some ratings milestones throughout the regular season and playoffs, the network hopes to post the "most watched telecast of all-time" tweet that seems to be handed off between the NFL's partner networks every year.