Browns-Chiefs game a winner in the ratings

CBS knew what it was doing when it decided to place the Week 1 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Kansas City Chiefs in the national TV window.

And America’s Team, along with the Chiefs, rewarded the network in a major way.

The game was the most-watched telecast on Sunday for any network, averaging 19.539 million viewers. It was also CBS’ second most-watched game in Week 1 of a season since 1998, and its most-watched opening weekend game since 2015.

By comparison, the Sunday night game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears averaged 17.64 million viewers, while Sunday’s early afternoon games averaged 13.93 million viewers on CBS and 11.18 million viewers on Fox, according to Yahoo Sports.

The numbers won’t be as high nationally for Cleveland’s Week 2 game as the Browns will host the Houston Texans in the home opener, but the local numbers will remain strong as the Browns look to even their record at 1-1.

Despite that, football fans across the country clearly love watching the Browns, oh and the Chiefs, as they are two of the premier teams in the AFC. And a rematch in the playoffs will have the potential to make this weekend’s numbers look like nothing special.