This past weekend, the Washington Commanders and Atlanta Falcons faced off in a pivotal prime time matchup on Sunday Night Football, which aired live on NBC and Peacock. Consumption of the game was measured at a total audience delivery of 19.7 million viewers, according to data from Nielsen Media Research and Adobe Analytics. As a result, the game is the most-watched Week 17 of Sunday Night Football since the season finale between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks in 2019. Compared to last year’s Week 17 matchup with the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, which averaged 18.28 million viewers, this game delivered an 7.7% increase.
The matchup made history with Jayden Daniels and Michael Penix Jr. becoming the first rookie quarterbacks to start against one another in a prime time NFL game. Daniels delivered the game-winning touchdown pass to tight end Zach Ertz in overtime to secure the team’s first playoff berth since 2020, sending the capacity crowd at Northwest Stadium into a frenzy. Play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico, analyst Cris Collinsworth and reporter Melissa Stark were on the call for the penultimate regular-season game under the property this season.
NBC Sports will broadcast the NFC North title game featuring the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings this Sunday, Jan. 5 at 8:20 p.m. EST with a first-round bye and home-field advantage on the line. The winner of the matchup will become the ninth team in NFL history to finish the regular season with 15 or more wins, while the other team will hold the most wins for any wild-card team in league history. This will also be the first regular-season matchup in NFL history between two teams who each have 14 victories.
NBC Sports has compiled its most-watched year of programming since 2016, with more than 32 shows securing audiences of 20 million viewers or more. Throughout the year, NFL coverage garnered several milestones, including the Peacock exclusive AFC Wild Card broadcast that was the most-streamed event in U.S. history at the time. The Sunday Night Football broadcast property finished last television season as the No. 1 show in prime time across key metrics for a 13th consecutive year.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
