The Chiefs were flexed out of ‘Sunday Night Football,’ and the ratings took a big hit
Something new and unexpected happened Sunday to the Chiefs in the Patrick Mahomes Era, and it wasn’t that crazy touchdown pass he threw against the Broncos.
The Chiefs’ game was moved out of prime time. It was supposed to be on “Sunday Night Football,” but the game was flexed to 3:25 p.m.
That had more to do with the Broncos, who have a 3-10 record, but it was unusual that the Chiefs were taken off prime time. With Mahomes in quarterback, they usually draw a big television audience.
Just look back a month ago. NBC Sports reported the Chiefs’ 30-27 victory over the Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Week 11 was seen by 19 million total people.
That includes 17.9 million people who watched on television. The viewership was a 23% increase from from last year’s Week 11 game in that time slot. That Chiefs-Chargers game had a 9.51 rating, per Show Buzz Daily.
The Chargers played again this past Sunday night as their game against the Dolphins replaced the Chiefs-Broncos contest. This time, the ratings were “not-so-good,” as Sports Media Watch put it.
Sports Media Watch said this past Sunday’s game was the smallest Week 14 “Sunday Night Football” game since Washington-Baltimore in 2008. The Chargers-Dolphins game had an 8.7 rating and 15.76 million viewers.
One reason for the decline in ratings? The Dolphins and Chargers fans don’t tune it to watch their team like Chiefs supporters. That’s according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
“Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and Los Angeles produce among the worst ratings in the country for their own NFL teams,” Jackson shared on Twitter.
This will be a lesson learned for the NFL: it’s not a good idea to take Mahomes and the Chiefs out of prime time.
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 9:00 AM.
