Jets-Bills breaks ESPN’s record for Monday Night Football viewership as 22.6million tune in to watch New York win in overtime as Aaron Rodgers goes down early with an injury
- It breaks the old record from 2009 when the Packers played the Vikings
- The number was the total number of viewers on ABC, ESPN and ESPN 2
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The “Monday Night Football” game between the visiting Buffalo Bills and New York Jets drew more than 22.6 million viewers, the most since ESPN began airing the NFL broadcast in 2006.
The game featured the long-awaited Jets debut of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who left after tearing his left Achilles tendon in his fourth fracture.
Despite Rodgers’ early departure, the Jets defeated the Bills 22–16 in overtime on Xavier Gipson’s 65-yard punt return for a touchdown.
The Jets announced Tuesday that Rodgers would miss the rest of the season.
The game, which aired on ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes, broke the network’s record set in 2009, when Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers faced their former quarterback Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. That game attracted 21.8 million viewers.
The Jets-Bills game set ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast record for viewers at 22.6 million
Viewers saw New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffer a season-ending injury early on
The Jets won in stunning fashion on a kickoff return by rookie Xavier Gipson (being tackled)
Total viewers for this year’s season opener of “Monday Night Football” were up 14 percent over last year’s opener (Denver Broncos vs. Seattle Seahawks), which then drew a record 19.8 million viewers for a Monday night game of the week 1.
Monday’s viewership breakdown included 11.7 million viewers on ABC, 9.4 million on ESPN and 1.52 million on ESPN2, which aired the alternate feed “ManningCast” with Peyton Manning and Eli Manning.
Sports Business Journal noted that this week’s total MNF viewership exceeded the most recent totals for the College Football Playoff final, the men’s NCAA Tournament final, the Kentucky Derby, the Oscars and the Grammy Awards.