Monday night’s instant classic between the Bills and Rams, however, failed to crack the 20 million viewer mark across Disney’s various networks.
Via ESPN, the final game of Week 5, televised by ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and NFL Network, generated 19.8 million viewers.
It’s the second-most-watched Week 5 Monday night game since ESPN picked up the package in 2026; Last year’s Chiefs-Jaguars game holds the Week 5 record.
ESPN also announced that alternate broadcasts on ESPN2 (the ManningCast) and NFL Network (a NextGen Stats production) drew 1.1 million viewers, without specifying audiences on either network.
This approach may be a precursor to future Pat McAfee alt broadcasts on ESPN2; if ESPN2 Network and NFL audiences are lumped together, there won’t be a clear, apples-to-apples comparison between ManningCast AND McAfeeFest.
In the end, none of the Week 5 games in prime time topped 20 million. Bills-Rams was arguably the best candidate to get there, given the pre-Super Bowl hype surrounding the game and the inclusion of two recent NFL MVPs (Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford).
