![\"Kansas](\"https:\/\/www.sportico.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/USATSI_24739959-e1731444578986.jpg?w=1280&h=719&crop=1\")
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CBS is pulling out all the stops for the most anticipated NFL game of the season, as the network is shipping off the gang at The NFL Today to Orchard Park for a rare on-site broadcast of the long-running studio show.<\/p>\n
The network formally announced the Highmark Stadium road trip with a 30-second teaser that aired during Sunday\u2019s pregame show.<\/p>\n
Analyst Nate Burleson greeted the news with a primal scream (\u201cYeaaahhhhhh!!! Can\u2019t wait to go to Buffalo!\u201d), while J.J. Watt joked that he\u2019d been given the green light to toss Bill Cowher through a folding table, a nod to the chaotic tailgating tradition made famous by the Bills Mafia crowd.<\/p>\n
If Watt is as good as his word, it won\u2019t be the first time Cowher will have used his body to destroy a piece of furniture; the former Steelers head coach executed a table-smashing bellyflop at Studio 43 in New York after picking Buffalo to upset Jacksonville in the 2018 AFC Wild Card round.<\/p>\n
Landing the eighth meeting between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen was CBS\u2019 top priority in the offseason, and while the NFL\u2019s other media partners all put in a bid for the Chiefs-Bills game, the Eye Network was deemed the best fit.<\/p>\n
Consistency often plays a key role in how these decisions shake out, and CBS has hosted the last four showdowns between these two rivals, drawing monster ratings at every turn.<\/p>\n
Most recently, CBS\u2019 broadcast of the Jan. 21 Divisional Round game between the Chiefs and Bills averaged a staggering 50.4 million viewers, while the network\u2019s previous regular-season presentation of the AFC air war scared up more than 26 million viewers last December.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, Buffalo\u2019s 24-20 win over KC at Arrowhead averaged 25.4 million viewers in Week 6.<\/p>\n
CBS\u2019 longstanding affiliation with the AFC also helped tilt the scales in its favor. According to Mike North, the NFL\u2019s VP of broadcast planning, the fact that CBS is contractually ensured a minimum number of Chiefs and Bills games worked out in the network\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou put a Bills-Chiefs game on CBS, that checks two boxes for us, knowing we\u2019ve got to get to our minimums for Buffalo and Kansas City,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n North said during an April appearance on the It\u2019s Always Gameday in Buffalo podcast.<\/p>\n And while he acknowledged that the rivalry \u201cshould be in the mix\u201d for every national NFL window, placing this year\u2019s game on CBS amounts to the \u201cbest use\u201d of the asset.<\/p>\n That said, every season brings with it a host of specific challenges, and CBS won\u2019t automatically walk away with every forthcoming installment of the big rivalry.<\/p>\n As North reminded the podcast hosts, the tremendous popularity of the 15-year Tom Brady-Peyton Manning duel effectively led the NFL to rotate their games among the networks.<\/p>\n According to media buyers, advertisers who bought time in CBS\u2019 Week 11 window during the spring upfront bazaar paid around $925,000 per each 30-second in-game unit, the network\u2019s highest rate this side of its Thanksgiving Day Bears-Lions broadcast. If CBS manages to avoid another 4:25 p.m.<\/p>\n ET blowout\u2014last week\u2019s national window was blighted by the Eagles\u2019 34-6 dismantling of the Cowboys\u2014its deliveries could approach the 30-million viewer mark, as the Chiefs-Bills game will air in 100% of the network\u2019s affiliate markets.<\/p>\n If the prospect of another memorable battle between Mahomes and Allen isn\u2019t enough to move the needle, the playoff implications alone are worth a click of the remote.<\/p>\n KC may not be firing on all cylinders, but it heads to Western New York with a perfect 9-0 record, while the Bills are cruising along atop the AFC East at 8-2.<\/p>\n If precedent is any guide, these two teams will be slugging it out until the final seconds, as their last three games were decided by an average margin of 3.3 points.<\/p>\n Also working in CBS\u2019 favor is the national fascination with the Chiefs, which have appeared in three of this season\u2019s top four most-watched NFL broadcasts, including NBC\u2019s Sept. 5 opener against the Ravens (29.2 million viewers). KC is currently the league\u2019s top draw, averaging 24.9 million viewers per game in six national appearances.<\/p>\n Since their first pairing on Oct. 19, 2020, Allen enjoys a 3-1 advantage over Mahomes in regular-season play, while KC in the same stretch has gone 3-0 against Buffalo during the playoffs.<\/p>\n The Bills are currently listed as 2.5-point favorites.<\/p>\n In a sense, the rivalry between these two young QBs began long before they first matched wits four years ago. KC snapped up Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft after the Bills traded their No. 10 overall pick for the Chiefs\u2019 first-round choice in 2018, whereupon Buffalo snapped up Allen as their top selection.<\/p>\n Burleson, Watt, Cowher and the rest of the NFL Today crew will set up shop in Lot 6, kitty-korner to the combination Tim Hortons\/team store.<\/p>\n The on-site broadcast will kick off at noon local time, leading into CBS\u2019 slate of five regional games. Fox will counter in the late window with Seahawks-Saints and Falcons-Broncos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CBS is pulling out all the stops for the most anticipated NFL game of the season, as the network is shipping off the gang at The NFL… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n