Jay Cutler‘s return to Denver drew the highest overnight rating for any NFL preseason game in the past five years.
Sunday night’s Bears/Broncos preseason tilt drew a 7.3/15 overnight rating on NBC, the highest overnight rating for an NFL preseason game since ABC drew an 8.2/13 for Titans/Cowboys in ’04.
The 7.3 marks the third-highest overnight rating for any sporting event since the NBA Finals in June, behind only the final round of the PGA Championship (7.5/17) and the 2009 MLB All-Star Game (10.4/18).
Bears/Broncos drew a 25.9/45 in Denver and a 22.6/36 in Chicago.
NBC comfortably won the night in prime time, drawing its best Sunday night numbers since Super Bowl XLIII in February.
