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Chiefs' Playoff Win Over Texans Made TV History

By Joe Summers

Jan 18, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) meets with Houston Texans cornerback Kris Boyd (17) after a 2025 AFC divisional round game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Jan 18, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) meets with Houston Texans cornerback Kris Boyd (17) after a 2025 AFC divisional round game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images
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The Kansas City Chiefs have been the NFL's biggest money-maker for quite a while now, officially set to host another AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday for the right to advance to the Super Bowl.

Even though people seem to hate on the Chiefs nationwide, it's clear the country is watching Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, and the rest of the team work its magic. With an opportunity to become the first team in the Super Bowl era to three-peat, the Chiefs certainly have everyone's attention.

Kansas City is so popular, in fact, that the Chiefs' victory over the Houston Texans made history at ESPN.

Chiefs vs. Texans Sets ESPN TV Viewership History

A whopping 32.7 million people tuned in for Kansas City's Divisional Round win. That's ESPN's most-watched NFL game ever, dating back to 1987, and the highest mark for any Divisional Saturday afternoon kickoff in 10 seasons. With Taylor Swift and Caitlin Clark in attendance to cheer on the Chiefs, a truly remarkable amount of people flipped their TVs to ESPN.

Those who stuck around from a slow beginning got to watch Patrick Mahomes make one of the better plays of his career with an electric TD pass to Travis Kelce, who turned back the clock to deliver 117 receiving yards in addition to the score.

One can only expect that Chiefs vs. Bills will break records too. This will be the fourth time these teams meet in the playoffs and the last two contests were classics. Josh Allen is one of the few quarterbacks who can rival Mahomes' perfection in the postseason, yet he's never slayed the dragon when it matters most.

There's also the fact that Buffalo was the only team to beat Kansas City's starters this year. Many will look at this game as a de facto Super Bowl matchup. It'll be billed as the marquee game of the 2024-25 season and those viewership numbers may make these look puny.

The AFC Championship will be broadcast on CBS and Paramount+ at 5:30 PM CT on Sunday. As things stand, the Chiefs are 1.5-point favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook to earn the home victory.

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