The second week of the 2026 NFL season attracted better viewership than the first week, relative to 2025.
Via Austin Karp of _Sports Business Journal_, average viewership is [down four percent](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2026/09/24/audience-analysis-nfl-viewership-down-4-after-week-2-pll-sets-records/?issueId=J645EZM3IBDMDIOZFB7AAF57SU) in comparison to last year, through two weeks.
The games are averaging 19.9 million viewers over the first two weeks. The Week 2 games averaged 20.4 million.
Last week, the games averaged 19.5 million, a [13-percent drop](https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nfls-week-1-total-audience-drops-by-13-percent) over Week 1 from last year.
It’s the third-highest average through two weeks in NFL history. The best years were 2015 and 2025.
Week 3 is headlined by Rams-Broncos on Sunday night, Ravens-Cowboys from Brazil in the late-afternoon window, and Eagles-Bears on Monday night.
Tonight’s game features the Falcons at the Packers, the first of three straight prime-time games for 0-2 Atlanta.