This Sunday’s Chiefs-Bills game from Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., is no ordinary regular-season contest, and it certainly isn’t being treated that way, either. 

The high-profile clash between the top two teams in the American Football Conference was already set for national-level coverage on CBS in the key 4:25 p.m. ET broadcast window, and it is being billed as the NFL’s game of the year so far. The network, however, is supplementing that status by bringing its The NFL Today pregame studio show to Highmark Stadium, an on-site broadcasting plan for that program normally reserved for the Super Bowl and conference championship game. 

“Yeah!” The NFL Today’s Nate Burleson screamed on-air with clenched fists upon the network’s announcement of the on-location presence. “I can’t wait to go to Buffalo. Can’t wait!”

As a result, the matchup could challenge the 2024 league opener between the Chiefs and Ravens, which drew an average of 29.2 million viewers, as the most-watched game of the regular season.

Lots of Appeal

Beyond the on-field supremacy of both teams, there are plenty of storylines with each franchise—and between them—to help draw in viewers.

The Chiefs, of course, are the two-time defending Super Bowl champions and will enter the game with a 9–0 record as Kansas City continues its pursuit of an undefeated season, one dramatically extended this past Sunday with a blocked field goal against the Broncos as time expired. The team has also supplanted the struggling Cowboys as the top television draw in the NFL.  

The Bills, meanwhile, have raced to their first 8–2 mark since 1993, the last of their four straight Super Bowl seasons during that early 1990s dynasty, and have one of the league’s most celebrated fan groups with Bills Mafia. Star quarterback Josh Allen has elevated his game even further to become a serious candidate for NFL Most Valuable Player. A forthcoming new stadium, also to be known as Highmark Stadium, is moving along in construction and remains on target to open for the 2026 season. 

Kansas City, meanwhile, has ended the Bills’ season three of the last four years, including a 27–24 divisional-round win last season in Buffalo, and a dramatic 42–36 overtime victory at Arrowhead Stadium in the same playoff round of the 2021 season. 

The Bears are determined to keep the team in the heart of Chicago. 

As the franchise continues to explore the next location for its proposed $4.7 billion domed stadium, the Michael Reese site, a 48.6-acre lot on the Chicago lakefront, is back in consideration, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. 

Bears president Kevin Warren said earlier this year that the site—which sits about 2.5 miles south of Soldier Field and a mile south of the Wintrust Arena, home of the Chicago Sky—was part of 10 to 12 the team considered, but was previously rejected because it was narrow and “doesn’t work from an NFL standpoint.”

The team’s preferred option continues to be a lakefront stadium adjacent to Soldier Field—but the proposal has not gained any traction with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, particularly as more than half the cost would need to be shouldered by public funding. The proposal has also received pushback from preservation group Friends of the Parks. 

The Reese site has been pushed as an option by Friends of the Parks and government research organization Civic Federation. It was purchased by the city of Chicago as a potential Olympic Village site, but it was never used since Brazil won the hosting rights to the 2016 Summer Olympics.

A Reese site stadium proposal could receive a more favorable reaction from the local government given the area is already undergoing a $4.3 billion redevelopment project.

Warren doesn’t seem to have closed the door on the Bears moving to Chicago suburb Arlington Heights, where the team purchased more than 300 acres of land in 2023, saying in October the team has “stayed close with the individuals in Arlington Heights.” But according to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bears are determined to stay within the city of Chicago—and are more open to sites away from the lakefront.

On-Field Circus

The Bears fell to 4–5 following a loss at home to the Patriots on Sunday. Chicago is in the middle of a three-game losing streak, which started with the Hail Mary loss to the Commanders. 

On Tuesday, the Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron as the team has not scored a touchdown in its last 23 offensive drives. According to ESPN’s Marc Silverman, there are “a few veteran players” who have even requested second-year quarterback Tyson Bagent start over 2024 No. 1 pick Caleb Williams. 

A splash of Steph Curry helped curb the NBA’s declining TV viewership to open the season.

The first nationally televised game for Curry and the Warriors—a close win Wednesday over the defending champion Celtics—drew 2.14 million viewers on ESPN, the most-watched game since opening week and up 30% from the comparable game last year (Spurs-Knicks), according to Sports Media Watch. 

Curry and the Warriors, along with LeBron James and the Cavaliers, were the league’s viewership darlings for most of the 2010s. But the Warriors were not expected to make much noise this year following a season in which they finished 10th in the West and were ousted in the play-in—and were missing from the league’s opening-week schedule. 

Curry has averaged just 22 points per game, his lowest since an injury-riddled 2019–2020 campaign, but Golden State’s depth has propelled the team to an 8–2 start.

Still Trending Down

The viewership boost comes after declines in viewership through most of the first two weeks of the season that sparked a conversation about whether the waning fan interest is correlated to the three-point-happy style of play. 

However, James and Kevin Durant weren’t able to carry the positive momentum into Friday’s games, as the ESPN doubleheader (Suns-Mavericks and Lakers-76ers) averaged about 1.36 million viewers. That number is down 19% versus the comparable window from last year—though last year’s nightcap saw James and the Lakers face off against Durant and the Suns, drawing almost two million viewers.

This year’s second game featured a healthy Lakers team against a Sixers squad missing Tyrese Maxey to injury and Joel Embiid to suspension. Paul George was the lone “star” player available for Philadelphia, but he was playing just his third game of the year as he returned from a left knee injury and was on a minutes restriction.

In-Season Hope

The second iteration of the NBA’s in-season tournament, now called the Emirates NBA Cup, tipped off Tuesday—and the league is hoping it bolsters interest in its regular season, especially during the period before Christmas. Last year’s tournament saw a 26% viewership increase versus viewership windows from the previous season.

The tournament, won by the Lakers last year, runs until the semifinals and finals on Dec. 14 and 17 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.