While the Houston Texans' loss to the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs may be a game that players and fans in the city of Houston will want to forget, it's one that could possibly be remembered by a record-setting audience the watched the 28-16 Patriots victory that was being broadcast on ESPN, the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
In total, 38 million viewers tuned in to watch a snowy, turnover filled slog in which there were as many combined interceptions and fumbles (10) as there were third down conversions, which only further proves that live sports are a guaranteed draw no matter who is playing or how close the game is, and that the NFL is the reigning, defending and undisputed king in that regard.
More impressive than the sheer total of people who tuned in for this Divisional Round matchup despite there being no pre-existing rivalries or well-established superstars -- apologies to Drake Maye and Will Anderson Jr., who are finalists for MVP and Defensive Player of the Year respectively, but those two names don't generally draw quite like guys like Mahomes, Allen, Lamar, Barkley, Henry, Burrow, etc. -- this is now officially the most-watched sporting event in the nearly 50 year history of ESPN, surpassing arguably the greatest college football game ever played.
That's right. After a 20-year run as the most-watched event in ESPN history with over 36 million viewers, the USC Trojans vs. Texas Longhorns National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl has been dethroned. As someone who still owns a Vince Young burnt orange Longhorns jersey -- as well as someone who writes about the Texans for a living -- this unexpected shift pains me more than I expected it would and far more than it should.
But frankly, if you consider how much of a ratings goliath the NFL has been for the last four decades, this actually isn't a surprise, nor is it indicative of the matchup that ESPN was broadcasting. Consider, just 30 minutes after the Patriots and Texans wrapped, the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears drew 45 million viewers, making it NBC's most watched Divisional Round Playoff game ever. Just one day earlier, the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos attracted over 39 million viewers. The NFL is just an absolute machine.
But hey, for all of the fans of the Texans out there who would do anything to get this game out of your brain, do yourself a favor... rewatch that Texas/USC game. I assume there's a decent amount of overlap between Texans fans and Longhorns fans, and since that's the case, turn that frown upside down as you watch Vince Young put on a performance for the ages... the kind of performance we all wish CJ Stroud could've had.