Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens playoff game becomes ESPN’s most-watched NFL game ever

The Houston Texas vs. Baltimore Ravens NFL playoff game on Saturday afternoon produced record-setting viewership numbers on ESPN.

The network announced Monday that the matchup was the most-watched NFL game ever on ESPN.

There were 31.8 million viewers for the game, which is the highest number ever for ESPN, counting the playoffs and regular season.

The number for the Ravens-Texans game continued a trend of NFL viewership being up. ESPN has aired its five most-watched NFL games ever over the past 13 months.

The game attracted a large audience, despite the Baltimore Ravens eventually pulling away for a comfortable win. The Texans and Ravens were tied at halftime, but Baltimore outscored Houston 24-0 over the final two quarters to earn a 34-10 victory.

The Ravens will now host the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday on CBS.

Prior to Saturday afternoon, the previous high number for a football game on ESPN occurred last January. That was when the Dallas Cowboys beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

While the viewership number was at 31.8 million, the game peaked at 36.2 million in the third quarter. It’s not a surprise that some viewers started turning away as the game got out of hand.

NFL Playoffs: Game times, TV channel, odds for AFC, NFC Championship Games

Another riveting NFL Divisional Playoff game is in the books, with the Detroit Lions upending the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to advance to this year’s NFC Championship Game. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs knocked off the Buffalo Bills to advance. With those matchups now set, we can unveil the NFL Championship Weekend schedule.

The NFC will have the late game on Sunday night, with the Lions taking on the San Francisco 49ers on the West coast.

The AFC will have the early game, with the Chiefs taking on the Baltimore Ravens on the East coast.

The 49ers earned their berth in the NFC Championship Game on Saturday evening when they knocked off the Green Bay Packers in a thrilling 24-21 contest that came down to the wire. San Francisco dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring Green Bay 10-0 in the final frame to claim the win.

That put the second No. 1 seed in this year’s playoffs into a conference championship game.

Earlier in the day, the Baltimore Ravens claimed their spot in the AFC Championship Game by dusting the Houston Texans in a game that was never really all that competitive.

The Ravens and Texans battled to a 10-10 tie in the first half, then Baltimore ran away with the game in the second half. The Ravens scored three straight touchdowns and then tacked on an additional field goal late to make the final score 34-10.

It will be the first time the Ravens have hosted an AFC Championship Game. The Ravens are making their first AFC Championship Game appearance since 2012, when they beat the New England Patriots to advance to Super Bowl XLVII, which they then won.

For San Francisco, it will be a third straight appearance in the NFC Championship Game, as well as the fourth in the last five years. The 49ers have not hosted an NFC Championship Game since 2019, though.

NFL Championship Weekend Schedule

Sunday, Jan. 28

AFC Championship Game
(3) Kansas City Chiefs at (1) Baltimore Ravens
Site: Baltimore, Md.
Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: CBS, Paramount+
Point Spread: Baltimore -3.5

NFC Championship Game
(3) Detroit Lions at (1) San Francisco 49ers
Site: San Francisco, Calif.
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Point Spread: San Francisco -7