2021 NFL regular season drew highest average viewership since 2015
Fans couldn't get enough NFL football in 2021.
The NFL averaged 17.1 million viewers across television and digital platforms this season, the highest regular-season average viewership since 2015, the league announced Wednesday.
The figure represents a 10% viewership increase from the 2020 campaign. In total, fans watched 370 billion minutes of NFL football over the 2021 season.
NFL games accounted for the top 16 telecasts in 2021 and 91 of the top 100, according to the league.
No contest drew more viewers than the Las Vegas Raiders-Dallas Cowboys clash on Thanksgiving; 40.8 million people tuned in for the game.
The Cowboys were involved in five of the NFL's top 10 most-watched games of the season:
| Game | Week | Network | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders vs. Cowboys | 12 | CBS | 40.8M |
| Cowboys vs. Chiefs | 11 | FOX | 28.7M |
| Browns vs. Packers | 16 | FOX/NFLN | 28.6M |
| Bears vs. Lions | 12 | FOX | 28.2M |
| Buccaneers vs. Patriots | 4 | NBC | 27.2M |
| Cardinals vs. Cowboys | 17 | FOX | 26.8M |
| Rams vs. Packers | 12 | FOX | 25.2M |
| Cowboys vs. Buccaneers | 1 | NBC | 25.2 |
| Packers vs. Chiefs | 9 | FOX | 25.0M |
| Cowboys vs. Chargers | 2 | CBS | 25.0M |
The 2021 campaign was the first to feature a 17-game schedule. It was also filled with down-to-the-wire action, with a record 34 contests decided by game-winning scores on the final play.
The Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers finished the regular season as the top seeds in their respective conferences.