Buccaneers-Lions Game Broke NBC Sports Viewership Records

The Bucs and Lions Divisional Round playoff matchup this past Sunday reached new heights for NBC Sports in 30 years.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions faced off in the Divisional Round of the 2023 playoffs in a rematch from their earlier collision in Week 6 of the regular season.

The week six matchup between these two teams didn't quite live up to the original hype that surrounded it. The Lions' high-flying offense was limited to just 20 points by the Buccaneers' defense, while the Bucs' offense only was able to muster six total points in the loss.

Sunday's Divisional matchup seemed to be headed in much of the same direction as both teams were looking to gain an advantage and entered halftime tied up at 10 a piece. In the second half, all of that changed.

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Both teams started playing with a go-and-win-it attitude with each making big splash plays to keep their hopes of winning alive, and in the fourth quarter when the pressure was at its highest the Lions and Bucs put on a show that would wind up coming down to the minutes of the game.

During the final minutes of Detroit's eventual 31-23 win over the Buccaneers, NBC Sports' broadcast peaked at 49.1 million people marking it the station's most-watched Divisional Round game in 30 years.

A peak 49.1 million people watched the final minutes of the Detroit Lions' historic win over Tampa Bay.

It was NBC Sports' most-watched NFL Divisional game in 30 years. pic.twitter.com/WoVzhETEpc

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) January 22, 2024

A large reason behind that is Detroit making moves in the playoffs for the first time in 30 years as well as the Buccaneers' fan base feeding off of the negative energy that surrounded the team from the outside for the majority of the season.

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The Lions' historic run also made for great storylines that were able to bring in a massive national audience. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' season is now over following the loss while the Detroit Lions will look to continue their hot play as they face off against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.

Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2023 season.

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