The NFL is down to its final eight teams and historically this weekend’s games are viewership powerhouses. Last year, the NFL’s divisional round, led by a mega-matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs, averaged a whopping 40.0 million viewers, the highest audience number on record, dating to 1988. Kansas City’s win at Buffalo led the way with 50.4 million viewers, the most-watched divisional round game on record.
There are plenty of stories at The Athletic projecting what might happen this weekend. On the media front, Tom Brady will once again find the spotlight as Fox’s lead NFL analyst, but this week presents something that hits at the crux of Brady’s juggling between his analyst duties and minority ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Last week NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported that Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has been recruited by Brady to interview with the Raiders for the club’s head coach opening.
“Thanks in part to the involvement of Brady, who sources say personally vouched for Johnson and implored him to take the interview through his agent, Johnson spoke with them,” Rapoport wrote.
“Essentially, Brady recruited Johnson to interview.”
Rapoport also reported that “Brady was influential in the decision to fire (head coach Antonio) Pierce and (general manager Tom) Telesco, seeking alignment from him to the GM to the coach.”
(The Athletic’s Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed have essential additional reporting on the Raiders’ coaching and GM searches, both being informed — and influenced — by Brady.)
Lions OC Ben Johnson says he spoke with Tom Brady on the field before the Packers game. First time he’s met him.
Brady will be calling the Commanders-Lions game this weekend for Fox, while helping the Raiders find a new head coach and GM.
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) January 15, 2025
Fox is airing the Lions-Washington Commanders game Saturday (8 p.m. ET, also on Fox Deportes) with Kevin Burkhardt and Brady in the booth. There is no other NFL broadcast with this kind of working conflict, but we already knew that. The conflict has already been written about, including here several times, and as we have reported, Fox has no issues with it, given it is happy to be in the Tom Brady business.
But viewers deserve transparency at a minimum, and what Fox Sports should do out of respect for the audience is have Brady and Burkhardt discuss — on-air — that Brady has been part of the process involving Johnson.
I expect the broadcast to address it in some form (Fox Sports brass knows this is all out there, and its top NFL team has a lead producer and director who are immensely respected across the industry), but how deep they address it, we’ll see.
From my perspective, it should not simply be gloss over it with a 45-second discussion. If you are going to own the conflict, at least be transparent with the audience.
A substantive acknowledgment and discussion of what’s going on would help Brady with viewers who might naturally believe his recruitment of Johnson will have an impact on how he discusses the Lions.
Beyond Brady’s analysis of Johnson and the Lions, what will this year’s divisional round bring as far as viewer interest?
We bring back the Watchability Index for another week, which rates viewer anticipation as well as predicts expected viewership.
Josh Allen and the Bills were part of the most-watched NFL divisional round playoff game in 2024. His 2025 playoff matchup with Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson could top that. (Elsa / Getty Images)
Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills
6:30 p.m. ET Sunday
CBS, Paramount+
Watchability: 10 out of 10
Why it’s watchable: The NFL has always marketed its sport through the quarterbacks — Manning vs. Brady! — and this game has the two leading contenders for the league MVP honors — the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and Buffalo’s Josh Allen. You can’t ask for more as far as entertainment if you are neutral.
The two teams ranked second (Bills) and third (Ravens) during the regular season. The Ravens are particularly lethal on the ground — they averaged 187.6 yards per game. Highmark Stadium is loud and cold, a perfect setting for football.
Everything about this game feels massive and it’s why the NFL placed it in its most optimum television window.
Odds: Ravens (-1)
Viewership prediction: 47 million viewers
Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles
3 p.m. ET Sunday
NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, Universo
Watchability ranking: 8 out of 10
Why it’s watchable: Hard not to embrace the Rams given the ongoing wildfires in the Los Angeles area. Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp are a collective force, and when Matthew Stafford is on, he’s fun to watch. L.A. looked like a juggernaut against the Minnesota Vikings with a postseason-record nine sacks.
The Eagles have the top-ranked defense (we’ll see how the loss of Nakobe Dean affects that), an all-time asset in Saquon Barkley and “Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life” working for them.
Lincoln Financial Field is a nightmare for opposing teams given Eagles fans are boisterous and belligerent. A late afternoon game in a great sports city. How can you not watch?
Odds: Eagles (-6)
Viewership prediction: 39 million viewers
Washington Commanders at Detroit Lions
8 p.m. ET Saturday
Fox, Fox Deportes
Watchability ranking: 7.5 out of 10
Why it’s watchable: The Athletic’s projection model gives the Lions a 24 percent chance to advance to the Super Bowl, the best percentage among all the remaining teams. The model has them scoring the most points over the weekend, which makes sense given they led the league in points scored (33.2 points) and were second in total yards per game (424.9 yards).
Detroit is fun to watch, it has an uber-aggressive coach and has an America’s Team feel to it given how many people seem to list it as their second favorite team.
It’s great to see the Commanders fans get this playoff run after all the years of living under the Dan Snyder regime. Jayden Daniels is a lock for Rookie of the Year and plays like a seasoned vet. Plus, how can you not love a doink to win a wild-card game?
Favorite: Lions (-9)
Viewership prediction: 35 million viewers
Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs
4:30 p.m. ET Saturday
ESPN/ABC, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes
Watchability ranking: 5 out of 10
Why it’s watchable: Start with Patrick Mahomes, the standard-bearer for winning. The Chiefs have been the NFL’s viewership bell cow over the last couple of years (for good reason) given their excellence. (Taylor Swift probably helped juice the numbers, too.)
The weather is expected to be chilly and Arrowhead Stadium is chaotic when filled.
The Texans seem to live in the early Saturday afternoon slot, which tells you how the NFL broadcasting department sees them against other teams. Houston has the lowest expected points in our projection model, and the Chiefs’ starters have rested since Christmas Day.
Favorite: Chiefs -8
Viewership prediction: 34 million
(Top photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)