AFC, NFC Championship Games Averaged 49.6M Viewers, Drew Nearly 100M Unique Viewers

NFL ratings continue to grow in the playoffs with the NFC and AFC Championship Games drawing almost 100 million unique viewers with an average of 49.6 million viewers.

ESPN's Adam Schefter noted the growth from past years:

The close games Sunday likely helped as the Cincinnati Bengals overcame a 21-3 deficit to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in overtime. The Los Angeles Rams trailed by 10 points going into the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers before emerging with a 20-17 win.

Only one of the last six playoff games was decided by more than three points: the Chiefs' thrilling 42-36 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round.

The late-game dramatics helped create impressive ratings for the NFL overall, with each of the first two rounds of the playoffs setting viewership records:

The NFL regular season also featured a 10 percent increase from the year before, per Joe Reedy of the Associated Press.

It could lead to even bigger numbers for the upcoming Super Bowl, featuring the Bengals in their first appearance since 1989 against a large-market team in the Rams.