FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Behind a 343-yard outing by Tom Brady, three touchdowns from Sony Michel and a dominant defensive performance that limited the Chargers to 19 yards on the ground, the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 41-28, on Sunday in the AFC Divisional Playoff. With the win, the Patriots now advance to their eighth consecutive AFC Championship Game, extending their own NFL record, with a chance to earn their 11th Super Bowl appearance, also an NFL record.
The Patriots also won in the ratings on Sunday, as the game delivered a 45.9 local household rating and 76 market share in the Boston television market. It averaged 1.8 million viewers.
Not only is that the highest rating of the year for the Patriots, it also marks the Patriots' best rating in the divisional playoff since the 2012 season, when they scored a 50.5 rating against Houston. The Patriots have played in the divisional round of the playoffs for nine straight years. Year over year, it marked a 6 percent increase in ratings from last year's divisional game against the Titans, which delivered a 43.5 rating on an 8:15 p.m. Saturday night broadcast.
Additionally, the Patriots-Chargers matchup finished as the most-watched television event of the football season in the Boston market across all programming.
The Patriots travel to Kansas City to face the Chiefs on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game. Kickoff is set for 6:40 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS, with Jim Nantz calling plays, Tony Romo handling color commentary and Tracy Wolfson, Evan Washburn and Jay Feely providing updates from the sidelines.
