Travis Kelce, Chiefs vs. Ravens Draws 55.5M Viewers; Most-Watched AFC Title Game Ever

The Kansas City Chiefs' 17-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens was the most-watched AFC Championship Game on record.

CBS announced Tuesday the game averaged 55.5 million viewers, eclipsing the 54.9 million viewers who tuned in to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New York Jets 24-19 in January 2011.

The AFC title game pitted the greatest quarterback of his era (Patrick Mahomes) against the presumptive MVP winner (Lamar Jackson). That on its own would've been a big enough draw.

CBS also benefited from the Taylor Swift bump. It's inescapable to ignore how the NFL, despite its existing position and popularity, has benefited by Swift's indirect involvement.

The AFC title game wasn't the most-watched event Sunday, though. Fox drew nearly 57 million viewers for the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 victory over the Detroit Lions in the NFC title game. That was a 19 percent increase over last season's conference championship clash.

At this rate, Super Bowl LVIII is on track to smash whatever viewership record matters.