Taylor Swift didn’t show up, but that didn’t stop Monday’s battle between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs from becoming the most watched Monday Night Football game in more than a quarter century.
Some 29 million viewers tuned in for the rematch of Super Bowl LVII. No television program has seen that many people watching at once since, well, those two teams met in February. The Chiefs won the Super Bowl, of course, with a last-minute field goal. The Eagles came out on top in the rematch. And it made fans eager to see these teams play again next February.
The Chiefs have been must-watch TV for a wider audience this year because of Travis Kelce’s relationship with Taylor Swift, which has brought a slew of new viewers to the game. But the Philadelphia game had another wrinkle; it was also a rematch of Travis Kelce against his brother Jason Kelce, who plays center for the Eagles. This was the first time in their careers that Jason beat Travis (and beat the Chiefs, for that matter).
While Swift didn’t make the game itself, Monday’s contest was still dubbed the “Taylor Bowl” by many. Beyond the Kelce brother-versus-brother matchup, the game saw Swift having to decide to root for either what many people believe to be her boyfriend or her hometown NFL team (she grew up relatively close to Philadelphia, in the Reading area). Last-minute changes to the Eras Tour made it impossible for her to be there—potentially the tragic death of a fan amid soaring temperatures in Rio de Janeiro.
At the game’s peak, 31.2 million viewers were watching simultaneously, ESPN said in a press release.
Beyond the achievement it set for Monday night games, it was the most-watched NFL game of any sort in nearly a full calendar year. (The Thanksgiving game in 2022 saw slightly higher numbers.)
This week, the Eagles will face the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon, while the Chiefs head to Las Vegas to take on the revived Raiders.
Both teams are currently leading their divisions. The Chiefs are atop the AFC West with a 7-3 record, while the Eagles have a dominant 9 wins and 1 loss, putting them far ahead of the other teams in the NFC East.