One Broncos game ranked among season’s top 5 in viewers

The Denver Broncos’ Week 11 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs drew 29 million viewers on CBS, making it the fifth most-watched game of the 2025 NFL regular season, according to data released Wednesday by NFL Media.

At the time, the game seemed like a big one with the rising AFC West team going against the dynasty of the division. In hindsight, this game may have meant less than what everyone had thought, but nobody knew that when they tuned in to watch the Broncos win 22-19.

And the game was even closer than the score, coming down to a game-winning kick from Wil Lutz from 35 yards as the buzzer sounded. It was the second field goal he hit in the game’s final minutes as the Broncos overcame a three-point KC lead late, taking advantage of Harrison Butker’s missed extra point. That came after what is, for now, the second-to-last touchdown connection of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce’s careers. Mahomes ripped his knee a few weeks later, and many believe Kelce will retire this offseason.

As much as the game is about the Broncos’ rise under Sean Payton, led by Bo Nix, it’s telling that four of the five most-watched games this year featured the long-dominant Chiefs, who faded out of the playoffs this year.

In fact, another moment of Broncos visibility happened in their 20-13 Christmas night victory also against Kansas City. That broadcast averaged 21.06 million viewers on Prime Video, setting a record for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football package since it became exclusive to the streamer in 2022. The audience peaked at 22.9 million during the second quarter.

“This season reached new heights,” Amazon said in a statement, noting viewership for the TNF package increased 60 percent since its inaugural exclusive season in 2022.

🚨2025 NFL Regular Season Viewership🚨

🏈18.7 million avg. viewers per game — 2nd highest season avg. on record

🏈Up +10% vs. 2024

🏈@NFL programs rank as 89 of the top 100 shows on TV since the start of the 2025 regular season pic.twitter.com/BVWlO6fKxq

— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) January 7, 2026

The Nov. 16 AFC West showdown trailed only the Chiefs-Cowboys Thanksgiving game (57.231 million), the Packers-Lions Thanksgiving game (47.7 million), the Eagles-Chiefs Week 2 Super Bowl rematch (33.8 million), and the Chiefs-Bills Week 9 game (30.84 million).

The Broncos’ two high-profile appearances came during a record-setting year for the NFL, which averaged 18.7 million viewers per game—the league’s highest regular-season average since 1989 and a 10% jump from 2024.

The Broncos are certainly making strides toward regaining their national relevance — nothing will help them more than a long playoff run.

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