It’s almost a surprise at this point when NFL playoff games don’t set ratings records.
The NFL notes that an averaged of 45.1 million viewers watched Packers-Giants, which set the all-time record for viewers for a divisional round game. It beat last year’s Jets-Patriots game by 4%.
The 49ers-Saints (35.6 million viewers) and Broncos-Patriots on CBS (34.2 million) also broke records for divisional round games played on Saturday.
The 49ers-Saints rating shows how valuable a close game can be. It beat Tebow-Brady despite an inferior timeslot. To put the NFL’s dominance in perspective, Texans-Ravens topped the BCS title game by almost 30%.
The Super Bowl, of course, will crush all the numbers above. Patriots-49ers or Patriots-Giants could do an especially huge number.