The Detroit Lions routed the Minnesota Vikings 31-9 to win the NFC North and secure the NFC’s No. 1 seed in a highly anticipated finale to the 2024 NFL regular season. In a prime-time matchup with incredibly high stakes, the game fell far below expectations, as the Lions led the entire game and never looked back.
Despite the lopsided affair, however, NBC still saw record viewership numbers for the final Sunday Night Football game of the season.
Vikings vs. Lions Delivers Historic Viewership Numbers for NBC
According to NBC, the Vikings and Lions’ Week 18 matchup had an average of 28.5 million viewers, the most in a Sunday Night Football season finale since 2012.
Furthermore, it was the third-most watched game on NBC since they acquired the SNF package in 2006, trailing only Kansas City vs. Baltimore in the 2024 NFL Kickoff Game (29.2 million viewers), and the Washington vs. Dallas 2012 season finale.
The Vikings-Lions viewership also represents a 24% increase from last year’s season finale between the Bills and Dolphins, which averaged 23.0 million viewers.
The network also reported that their audience peaked in the second quarter with approximately 31 million viewers from 9:30-9:45 p.m. EST, long before the game turned into a blowout in the second half.
While the game itself fell flat, the anticipation couldn’t have been higher because the stakes were so high. With the win, the Lions have won the NFC North for the second year in a row and have secured a bye in the first round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
The Vikings meanwhile, drop from potentially being the NFC’s No. 1 seed to No. 5 in playoff seeding. Instead of having a first round bye and having home field advantage throughout the postseason, they will be on the road to face the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round.
If the Vikings advance, they will be returning to Detroit for a rematch against the Lions, with a trip to the NFC Championship Game on the line.
