Some of the greatest quarterback rivalries in NFL history have dominated playoff viewership ratings for years. There was Bradshaw vs. Staubach in the 1970s and Montana vs. Elway in the 1990s. Most recently, throughout the 2000s and into the 2010s, we watched Brady take on Peyton and Eli Manning. But now, we have Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs vs. Josh Allen and the Bills, a staple rivalry in the playoffs each year. And the numbers show why.
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Sports journalist Clay Travis posted on Twitter that the Chiefs vs. Bills AFC Championship matchup eclipsed 57 million viewers, making it the second most-watched non-Super Bowl game of all time. However, this outcome makes many NFL fans sick to their stomachs. They are tired of how the Chiefs have been winning games—most being one-score wins and often aided by controversial referee calls—fueling the theory that their games are rigged for ratings.
57.7 million people watched Bills-Chiefs in the AFC title game. The second most watched non-Super Bowl game in NFL history.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 28, 2025
Although there’s no evidence to support this claim, one cannot look away from the fact that there have been egregious calls that the Chiefs get at crucial points in games all season. Sunday was no different. From an Allen QB sneak that should’ve been ruled a first down to an impossible catch by Xavier Worthy that appeared to hit the ground, and several ticky-tacky penalties away from the play that didn’t have to be called.
Additionally, Allen and the Bills were on the wrong end of crucial officiating decisions and couldn’t overcome them. They fought hard and even held a lead heading into the fourth quarter, but a mix of questionable calls and Mahomes’ magic ultimately sent them into the offseason.
Fans naturally reacted to the viewership ratings with great disdain. “And that’s why the cheating won’t stop,” one netizen wrote.
And that’s why the cheating won’t stop
— matt (@BajaWildcats) January 28, 2025
Yeah… so that means I don’t need to see the referees hand another game to the Chiefs. The NFL is a joke right now. We are laughing at them, not with them.
— Your favorite Misanthrope (@wishfind) January 28, 2025
Great, so 57.7 million people witnessed the continuation of brutally concerning officiating on a massive scale. Exposure on an unprecedented level
— BB (@yankees047) January 28, 2025
However, some fans appreciated the game for what it was — an instant classic.
Should have been the Superbowl. It was that good.
— GuyFawkeU (@GuyFawkesu) January 28, 2025
While there were questionable moments of officiating throughout the game on Sunday, the discourse around the Chiefs and the NFL is beginning to get insufferable. Sure, there were bad calls in favor of the Chiefs, but there are bad calls every game in every sport. It also ignores all context when you deem that the game is rigged whenever they do get a call.
Let’s not act like the first down Allen got on the QB sneak was obvious. If he did get it, he didn’t get it by much. The Worthy catch may have appeared to hit the ground, but it was also firmly in control by both him and the defender, making it a tough call. Acting like these are obvious calls would be foolish. They are 50/50, and you have to give Kansas City credit for showing a winning effort time and time again, putting them in a position to get those calls in their favor.
As the saying goes: You have to be good to be lucky, and lucky to be good.
All in all, it was a great game that we were treated to on Sunday. The only non-Super Bowl matchup it trails in all-time viewership is the Saints vs. Vikings NFC Championship in 2009—a game forever remembered as Brett Favre’s final playoff appearance.
