The NFL’s postseason scores took a hit over the extended wild-card trip as a series of plodding, one-sided sports sent millions of fans scrambling for a less boring option. The results could have been much worse given the current circumstances, and there are potential divisional round games in the pipeline that could change fortunes. According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day information, the six wild-card game averaged 27.8 million people, which marked an 8 % decline versus the 30.2 million per activity they scared up in next year’s opening quartet. The normal sales were down 2.42 million visitors per activity compared to the 2024 wild-card stone. The press partners were responsible for four of the six postseason games ‘ decreases in delivery times compared to the previous year’s portfolio, which creates an impenetrable gap between the NFL’s set and have-nots. Here’s how the individual panels fared in the face of an unsatisfying three weeks of sport: Chargers-Texans, CBS: 26 million people, off 1 %, or + 175, 000, versus last year’s equivalent Browns-Texans blow on NBC. Having been assigned the opening Saturday slot in each of the eight years in which they’ve punched their ticket to the playoffs ( 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2024, 2025 ), the Texans—who’ve never been big national TV draws—should by now be resigned to their virtual ownership of this uncelebrated berth. The first Saturday activity was by far the NFL’s least-watched playoff slot prior to the launch of an exclusive streaming window in 2024. Houston’s 32-12 handling of the Chargers set the tone for the rest of the weekend, as: a ) it wasn’t all that much fun to watch and b ) it featured the implosion of a young quarterback. Justin Herbert was persuaded by the Texans ‘ defence to throw four picks, which was one more than he had collected throughout the regular season. Fans at the time may take comfort in the thought that the following wild card games would be much more powerful, but Herbert also bore the brunt of four sacks behind a permeable O-line. That hoped-for progress was long in coming. Steelers-Ravens, Amazon Prime: 22.1 million viewers, down 3 %, or -790, 000 viewers, from last year’s Dolphins-Chiefs outing on Peacock ( 22.9 million ). A few minutes before the end of the second quarter, a grouchy Kirk Herbstreit called out the team’s performance as a result of Pittsburgh’s most recent no-show effort:” Where the hell is the fight? This is the Pittsburgh Steelers! There’s nothing! They’re just going through the motions”. Although the game’s peak viewership ( 24. 7 million viewers between 9 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. ET ) suggests that things might have turned out a little better for the streamer if Pittsburgh had made the effort to show up, the fans did so in kind. Despite that, Amazon delivered goods at a higher rate than it did when it acquired the rights to Thursday Night Football three years ago. Broncos-Bills, CBS: 31.1 million viewers, up 1 %, or + 53, 000 viewers, compared to the network’s lone wild card broadcast of 2024 ( Steelers-Bills ). The only network to experience year-over-year ratings growth during the unwatchy opening weekend, and it arguably has the best chance of putting up the most numbers in the divisional round when it plays host to the Ravens-Bills shootout on Sunday. Josh Allen did the usual Josh Allen things in a 31-7 victory over the Bills, but the defense also stepped up. After an early Bo Nix touchdown pass, Denver didn’t score again in the remaining 47 minutes and 24 seconds. There was hope that the Packers-Eagles game would give some relief from the mediocrity at this point, but it became clear that the NFL’s talent gap wouldn’t make this a memorable weekend for anyone who enjoys closely contested football. Packers-Eagles, Fox: 35.9 million viewers, down 11 % from last year’s Packers-Cowboys game ( 40.163 million ). Hope is for suckers. Another dud, although Fox still earned bragging rights as the weekend’s top draw. Any network faces the typical tough competitions whenever Dallas is in ( and out of ) the mix, which accounts for a large portion of the year-over-year decline. The JerryWorld cast has averaged 40.8 million viewers over the course of their final two wild card games on Fox and CBS, which leaves big gaps to be filled. Down at field level, it was the same old story. Jordan Love’s weaknesses were exposed by the Eagles ‘ defense, who picked him off three times in yet another poor passing performance by a promising quarterback. Philly’s offense, meanwhile, played a clean game, even if Jalen Hurts failed to light it up. Speaking of which, the NFL’s offensive production has been wanting thus far in the postseason, as the wild card round’s average of 39.2 points per game was dwarfed by last year’s figure ( 51.3 ppg ). Defense may win championships, but scoring draws a crowd, and this year’s output was down 14 % compared to the regular-season average ( 45.8 ppg ). For what it’s worth, scoring in the 2024 wild card games was up 18 % versus the regular-season’s 43.5 ppg. Commanders-Bucs, NBC: Inclusive of streaming impressions, the game averaged 29 million viewers, down 19 % from last year’s primetime Rams-Lions showcase ( 36 million ), while NBC’s vanilla TV deliveries ( 26.2 million ) were off 19 % versus 32.1 million. Go figure. The Football Gods finally decide to give us a nailbiter, but the TV audience was still a little meh, at least by the NFL’s lofty standards. Fans may have been completely exhausted by all the prefatory ugliness that contributed to Washington’s first playoff victory in 18 years, but those who tuned in early did not get a heck of a star turn from the Commanders ‘ Jayden Daniels. The rookie turned the tables on the young-QB narrative, closing out the win with 268 yards passing, a pair of touchdowns and 36 rushing yards. Washington is starting to look like a team of destiny—witness the rare helpful doink that nudged Zane Gonzalez’s 37-yard game-winner through the uprights with triple zeros on the clock—although they’ll have to get past Dan Campbell’s heavily-favored Lions (-9.5 ) on Saturday night. Vikings-Rams, ESPN/ABC: 25.3 million viewers, down 13 % versus last year’s Eagles-Bucs game ( 29.1 million ). Sam Darnold, who in 2019 was memorably heard to say,” I’m seeing ghosts” during a 33-0 Monday Night Football mauling, had that familiar haunted look about him against the Rams. After leading the Vikings to a standout 14-win season, the 27-year-old QB fell apart in his playoff debut, taking nine sacks for a net loss of 82 yards and a fumble. Yipes. Up next: With that unpleasantness out of the way, the divisional round will kick off with the twin debuts of the defending champs ( Texans-Chiefs ) and the league’s top national TV draw ( Commanders-Lions ). That’s right: Just two years after being limited to a pair of coast-to-coast broadcasts, the Detroit Lions this season averaged 22.6 million viewers across a 10-game slate, besting the Cowboys by some 175, 000 impressions. Ravens-Bills and the divisional round’s final game is Sunday, when the Rams-Eagles and Ravens-Bills square off against one of the best MVP candidates. Presumably the play will be much better now that most of the pretenders have been eliminated, but scarcity should also benefit the networks. With seven games left before the NFL takes a seven-game break, the appeal of televised football is at its height as its unavoidable absence becomes more difficult to ignore.