Seven weeks into the 2026-27 NFL season, more than a dozen matchups have already surpassed 20 million viewers, setting up intense ratings competition through the fall and winter. CBS currently holds the most-watched game of the season with 28.45 million viewers tuning in to the late window of its Week 4 Sunday doubleheader, which in most markets featured the Kansas City Chiefs edging out a win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
CBS has three of the top 10 most-watched regular-season broadcasts so far, including the Week 6 late window (split between Chiefs-Chargers and Bills-Raiders) and the Week 3 single header (mostly Ravens-Cowboys). NBC has four of the top 10, Fox has two, and ABC/ESPN has one. Prime Video's highest-rated game this season is the Week 7 Patriots-Bears matchup with 19.86 million viewers, which falls just below the top-10 threshold. The 10th spot belongs to ABC/ESPN's Monday Night Football premiere in Week 1, drawing 23.2 million viewers for Broncos-Chiefs.
Season-to-date, regular-season windows are averaging just over 18 million viewers through Week 6, a nominal increase of about 2% compared to the same period last year. Nielsen has continued to expand its measurement services, integrating Big Data + Panel two years ago and further tweaking ratings this year to better capture out-of-home viewing. Those changes may account for some of the small viewership bumps. The league posted a double-digit decline in Week 1 but has steadily recovered, pulling ahead of last year's pace only in Week 5.
Top 10 Most-Watched Games
1. CBS Week 4 late window (Chiefs-Raiders) – 28.45 million
2. Fox Week 2 (Commanders-Cowboys) – 27.21 million
3. Fox Week 5 late window (49ers-Seahawks) – 26.7 million
4. NBC Sunday Night Football premiere (Cowboys-Giants) – 25.66 million
5. NBC season kickoff (Patriots-Seahawks) – 25.09 million
6. CBS Week 3 (Ravens-Cowboys) – 24.9 million (largest Week 3 audience since 2014; most-watched NFL international series game on record)
7. NBC Week 6 Sunday Night Football (Packers-Cowboys) – 24.66 million
8. NBC Week 2 Sunday Night Football (Colts-Chiefs) – 24.29 million (best SNF Week 2 audience since 2015)
9. ABC/ESPN Monday Night Football premiere (Broncos-Chiefs) – 23.2 million
Tracking per-game ratings remains complicated by the NFL's split-broadcast structure, where the televised game varies by local market. The list above reflects the game shown in a majority of markets. The rankings will be updated and expanded as the season progresses.
