Super Bowl LIX on Fox hauls in record 126 million viewers for Eagles vs. Chiefs

Super Bowl LIX set a projected viewership record of 126 million during Sunday’s matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, FOX Sports revealed.

The game peaked at 135.7 million viewers from 8:00-8:15 p.m., which was during the second quarter and ahead of Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show performance.

The ratings number accounts for the average audience across FOX, FOX Deportes, Tubi, Telemundo and NFL Digital Properties. Tubi alone accounted for 14.1 million viewers of Sunday’s championship game, according to Fox Sports’ projections.

These numbers came despite the lopsided nature of the matchup. The Eagles scored the first 34 points of the game en route to defeating the Chiefs 40-22 after Kansas City scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to help cut into the lead. However, it was too late for the Chiefs and Philadelphia took the victory by three scores — ending the hopes of a historic third consecutive Super Bowl win for Kansas City.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts finished 17-of-22 passing for 221 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 72 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, frequently moving the chains by slipping free from the pocket and picking up key first downs. For his efforts, he was awarded MVP honors of Super Bowl LIX.

The Eagles were dominant in their victory, holding the Chiefs to just six first downs at one point into the fourth quarter. Kansas City was held to just 49 rushing yards during the contest — 25 of which came from Mahomes himself.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was hoping to add a fourth Lombardi Trophy to his resume, finished the game with 257 passing yards and three touchdowns. However, he threw two game-changing interceptions down the stretch.

His job was made difficult by Philadelphia’s No. 1 ranked defense, which pressured Mahomes early and often. The Eagles’ pass rush logged six sacks on the evening.

As for head coach Nick Sirianni, he’s a long way removed from calls for his firing as recent as last season. Since taking over for Doug Pederson after the 2020 season, Sirianni is 48-20 in the regular season. That’s the fifth-highest winning percentage among head coaches in NFL history. But coaches are ultimately judged by their postseason success, and Sirianni will now have a ring to show off in addition to a Super Bowl appearance in 2022.

On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this report.