Record Setting Turkey Day

Originally posted on FanNation Bear Digest
By Gene Chamberlain | Last updated 11/30/21

The Bears remain big TV attractions even with a 4-7 record and very little hope for a playoff berth. T The average viewership for the three NFL games on Thanksgiving was 29.7 million, which was the highest since 1998 and the Bears' 16-14 win over the Detroit Lions drew a viewership of 26.75 million.

This was a 14% improvement over the early game in 2020. This was all the more surprising considering it was a matchup of an 0-9-1 team against a 3-7 team.

The Cowboys game with the Las Vegas Raiders right after the Bears game drew the largest audience for a regular-season NFL game in almost 30 years, 37.84 million on CBS. That was a 23% increase over last year's late afternoon game. It was the most people to watch any NFL regular-season game since 38.4 million watched the Cowboys and Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving Day in 1993. That was the famed "Leon Lett" game.

Later, the prime-time game on NBC between the Buffalo Bills and the New Orleans Saints drew viewership of 19.38 million, down 7% from the 2019 game. There was no prime-time game last year because it was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

The Thanksgiving Day ratings weren't the only sign the Bears remain a big draw on TV. Their game in Green Bay for Sunday night, Dec. 12 could have been flexed to a game between two competitive team.

However NBC has decided to keep that matchup at Lambeau Field for SNF.

This article first appeared on Bear Digest and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: