NFL playoff ratings have dropped across the board through the first two rounds, but Falcons-Eagles landed closest to the pin, so to speak.
Last Saturday’s Falcons-Eagles NFC Divisional Round game had a 15.5 rating and 27.1 million viewers on NBC, down 4% in ratings and 6% in viewership from Seahawks-Falcons on FOX last year (16.2, 28.7M) and down 14% in both measures from Chiefs-Patriots on CBS in 2016 (18.1, 31.5M).
The Eagles’ win ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched Saturday afternoon Divisional Round game since 2009 (Ravens-Titans: 15.4, 25.5M). Ratings and viewership in the window have now declined for three straight seasons.
It was also the lowest rated and least-watched NFC Divisional game — in any timeslot — since the same 2009 postseason (Cardinals-Panthers: 13.8, 23.8M).
Despite the lower numbers, Saturday’s game posted the smallest declines of the postseason. All eight games have declined to multi-year lows.
Philadelphia led all markets with a 37.8 rating, its highest for an Eagles game since 2014 Wild Card round (42.0). Atlanta ranked second at a 29.3. New Orleans was the top neutral market (28.7), with Pittsburgh (24.7) and Minneapolis-St. Paul (24.5) rounding out the top five.
Early Saturday NFL Divisional Round Ratings, Viewership (Past Decade
[Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 1.17, NBC Sports]
