Whichever side you supported in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, it was a good night for the NFL and Fox.
A staggering 56.7 million people tuned in to the Detroit Lions’ second-half collapse against the San Francisco 49ers, according to Fox Sports.
In a post on the social media platform X, the network’s PR team announced the game had the best ratings for an NFC Championship since 2012 and the fourth most popular non-Super Bowl contest of all time.
The viewership was also up an impressive 19 percent against last season’s NFC Championship game, which hauled in 47.5 million.
In conclusion of its 30th season of NFL coverage, @NFLonFOX is projected to score its best #NFCChampionshipGame in twelve years with 56,691,000 viewers. ? pic.twitter.com/OY3m1huB5r
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) January 29, 2024
Sunday’s thriller saw the Lions suffer heartbreak as they blew a 24-7 halftime lead against the 49ers to lose by 34-31.
Don’t stop believing. #FTTB pic.twitter.com/p71F6W1bvU
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 29, 2024
The 49ers will now play the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl after the latter overcame the Baltimore Ravens in the other AFC Championship Game earlier on Sunday.
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“We played as bad of a first half as we could, but we were still within 17. There’s plenty of points there you can make up,” Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said after the match, according to AFP.
“The D shut them out there in the second half and this dude right next to me [quarterback Brock Purdy] made it happen.”
Brandon Aiyuk with the incredible catch pic.twitter.com/sLcufe09hy
— Coach Yac ? (@Coach_Yac) January 29, 2024
The comeback is now tied as the biggest in an NFC title game in NFL history, with the only other 17-point comeback also coming from the 49ers back in 2013 when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons.
The @49ers 17-point comeback win is tied for the largest comeback victory in NFC Championship history.
The 49ers also had a 17-point comeback win in the 2013 NFC Championship against the Falcons ? pic.twitter.com/Vp4bKGF4J4
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 29, 2024
The 49ers will now take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Feb. 11. The last time the teams faced off in a Super Bowl was four years ago, when the Chiefs triumphed 31-20.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.