The network is sending off the crew at The NFL Now to Orchard Park for a unique on-site spread of the long-running theater show, making sure that CBS pulls out all the starts for the most highly anticipated NFL game of the season. A 30-second trailer that aired during Sunday’s halftime show officially revealed the Highmark Stadium road trip. Analyst Nate Burleson greeted the news with a primal scream (” Yeaaahhhhhh!!! This wait to go to Buffalo”! In a nod to the turbulent following custom made popular by the Bills Mafia group, J. J. Watt joked that he had been given the natural light to shove Bill Cowher through a folding tables. After choosing Buffalo to defeat Jacksonville in the 2018 AFC Wild Card round, the former Steelers mind coach performed a table-smashing bellyflop at Studio 43 in New York if Watt is as good as he says. This is not the first time Cowher will have used his body to eliminate equipment. The Eye Network was chosen as the best fit for the NFL’s various media partners after the NFL’s other multimedia companions all submitted bids for the Chiefs-Bills sport despite CBS ‘ top priority in the winter regarding landing the seventh conference between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. Consistenty frequently determines how these decisions are made, and CBS has hosted these two rivals ‘ last four showstoppers, which consistently generated astronomical ratings. Most recently, CBS ‘ broadcast of the Jan. 21 Divisional Round game between the Chiefs and Bills averaged a staggering 50.4 million viewers, while the network’s previous regular-season presentation of the AFC air war scared up more than 26 million viewers last December. Two years ago, Buffalo’s 24-20 win over KC at Arrowhead averaged 25.4 million viewers in Week 6. The AFC’s long-standing partnership with CBS also contributed to its favorable outcome. The NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning, Mike North, believes that CBS was contractually guaranteed a minimum number of Chiefs and Bills games worked out favorably. In an interview with the It’s Always Gameday in Buffalo podcast in April, North said,” You put a Bills-Chiefs game on CBS, and it checks two boxes for us knowing we’ve got to get our minimums for Kansas City and Buffalo,” North said. Even though he acknowledged that the rivalry” should be in the mix” for every national NFL window, he made the most of the asset by putting this year’s game on CBS. Despite this, each season presents a number of unique challenges, and CBS wo n’t automatically win over every big rivalry that comes its way. The NFL effectively rotated its games among the networks as North reminded the podcast hosts of how popular the 15-year Tom Brady-Peyton Manning duel was. According to media buyers, advertisers who bought time in CBS ‘ Week 11 window during the spring upfront bazaar paid around$ 925, 000 per each 30-second in-game unit, the network’s highest rate this side of its Thanksgiving Day Bears-Lions broadcast. If CBS manages to avoid another 4: 25 p. m. ET blowout—last week’s national window was blighted by the Eagles ‘ 34-6 dismantling of the Cowboys —its deliveries could approach the 30-million viewer mark, as the Chiefs-Bills game will air in 100 % of the network’s affiliate markets. The implications for the playoffs are worth a click away if the prospect of another memorable match between Mahomes and Allen is n’t enough to change the world. KC may not be firing on all of its bells, but it has a perfect 9-0 record heading to Western New York, where the Bills are 8-2 from the AFC East. These two teams will battle it out until the last second if precedent can be used, as their final three games ended up being decided by an average of 3.3 points. Also working in CBS ‘ favor is the national fascination with the Chiefs, which have appeared in three of this season’s top four most-watched NFL broadcasts, including NBC’s Sept. 5 opener against the Ravens ( 29.2 million viewers ). KC is currently the league’s top draw, averaging 24.9 million viewers per game in six national appearances. Since their first pairing on Oct. 19, 2020, Allen enjoys a 3-1 advantage over Mahomes in regular-season play, while KC in the same stretch has gone 3-0 against Buffalo during the playoffs. The Bills are currently listed as 2.5-point favorites. These two young QBs ‘ rivalry, in some ways, began before they even had their first fight four years ago. After the Bills traded their No. 1, Mahomes, KC acquired him in the 2017 NFL Draft. 10 overall pick for the Chiefs ‘ first-round choice in 2018, whereupon Buffalo snapped up Allen as their top selection. Burleson, Watt, Cowher and the rest of the NFL Today crew will set up shop in Lot 6, kitty-korner to the combination Tim Hortons/team store. The on-site broadcast will begin at noon local time, beginning the CBS slate of five regional games. Fox will counter in the late window with Seahawks-Saints and Falcons-Broncos.
