Television ratings for the AFC Championship game against the Broncos the highest for a Patriots game in seven years

The game received a 47.8 household rating and 84 share in the Boston market, CBS and Nielson Media Research reports.

A Patriots fan holds a sign during the fourth quarter. The New England Patriots played the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship football game at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday. Barry Chin / Globe Staff

By Chad Finn, The Boston Globe

January 29, 2026 | 7:52 AM

1 minute to read

The Patriots’ 10-7 victory over the Broncos last Sunday in the AFC Championship game drew the highest television rating and share in the Boston area since the last time they played in a Super Bowl.

According to CBS and Nielsen Media Research, the game had a 47.8 household rating and 84 share in the Boston market. That is the highest rating and share for a Patriots game on any network since their 13-3 victory over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII seven years ago (57.4/84).

The AFC Championship game was the most-watched playoff game on any network (48.62 million viewers). It stands as the second most-watched game of the entire season: The Thanksgiving matchup between the Chiefs and Cowboys, also on CBS, is the most-watched regular-season NFL game of all time, with 57.23 million viewers.

The 10 Patriots broadcasts on CBS this season — including their wild-card round victory over the Chargers — averaged a 28.0 rating and 74 share in Boston, up 43 percent over last year.

The rating is the percentage of households in a defined area tuned in to a program at a given time. Share is the percentage of households with televisions in use.

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