FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – As expected, the highly anticipated AFC Championship rematch between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts drew impressive ratings both locally and nationally. According to the overnight numbers, NBC's local broadcast of the game garnered a 44.6 household rating and 64 market share, making it the highest rated Patriots game of the 2015 season. This means that the Week 6 matchup eclipsed the Patriots' Thursday night season opener vs. the Steelers that earned a 39.5 household rating and a market share of 62 in the Boston area. The Patriots at Colts drew the fourth-highest local household rating ever for a regular season Patriots game and was rated 36-percent higher than last year's Week 6 matchup, New England at Buffalo, which posted a household rating of 28.4.

Nationally, the game's telecast delivered a 14.6 household rating and a market share of 23, making it the highest-rated Week 6 contest in the history of NBC's Sunday Night Football. Patriots at Colts, which aired during the second game of the Major League Baseball's (MLB) Chicago Cubs at New York Mets National Championship League Series, also garnered the highest rating for an NFL primetime game when competing against an MLB League Championship Series since 1997. 

National numbers for the telecast were 26-percent higher than last year's Week 6 game on Sunday Night Football, New York Giants at Philadelphia, which posted a household rating of 11.6 and captured 18-percent of the market share. For the first time in the 10-season history of NBC's Sunday Night Football, ratings for each of the first seven games have been higher than the year before.   

Next week, the Patriots return home to resume divisional play as they take on the New York Jets on Sunday, October, 25, at 1 p.m. ET. The game will be televised regionally on CBS and locally on WBZ in Boston.