NFL games need to have a certain intensity to keep viewers tuned in. If they turn out to be slogfests, ratings are most definitely going to take a hit. To prevent this and encourage more high-scoring, entertaining games, the league is going all in on enforcing illegal contact penalties on defenders.
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“The NFL wants to see wide receivers and defensive backs running freely through secondaries this season without being slowed by tactics involving clutching, grabbing, and pushing off,” Front Office Sports’ Mark Maske reported. “To accomplish this, the NFL competition committee has made illegal contact by defensive backs beyond five yards from the line of scrimmage and offensive pass interference points of clarification for this season, according to a weekly officiating video.
“… In previous years, the NFL has stressed illegal contact by defensive backs as a point of emphasis to open up the passing game and boost scoring. League leaders and rule-makers have generally believed that high-scoring games increase fan interest and broadcast viewership. In this case, the league is calling strict enforcement of illegal contact a “continuing” point of clarification by the competition committee.”
Front Office Sports noted that seven illegal contact calls were made during Week 1, three fewer than last season. With this now a point of clarification for the officiating crews, perhaps the viewership number could go up. The enforcement push is expected to increase call volume in coming weeks.
When a referee flags illegal contact, it means a defender has engaged with a receiver within five yards of the line of scrimmage. The offense is awarded an automatic first down and advances five yards ahead.
This is not the first time the NFL has stressed on officiating crews to zero in on illegal contact. This has happened multiple times in the past, with the NFL constantly urging the officiating crew to focus on illegal contact calls. Former referee and now rule analyst for FOX, Mike Pereira, called out the league’s insistence.
“You look at the numbers that reflect the year before and they’re down and so you make an emphasis of it,” he said on the Rich Eisen Show in 2022. “We did it in 2003 when I was there, and all of a sudden the number of illegal contact calls in the year went from 79 in 2003 to 191 in 2004. Did it again in 2013 when the numbers were 59 and it went to I think it was about 160 the following year. Last year there were only 39 calls, which was one of the lowest ever in terms of illegal contact since the rule came in.”
Per Pro Football Reference, 95 illegal contact calls were made in 2025, up from 57 in 2024. In 2023, the calls went up to 90.
With defensive backs now wary of penalties, wide receivers can hope to be more contact-free and perhaps create some highlight-reel-worthy catches in the deep. More action leads to more points, which means more viewers.
This year’s Week 1 was the third-most-watched opening week in the last decade. Though Week 1 games averaged 19.5 million viewers, they were down 13 percent from an average of 22.3 million viewers last season and 9 percent from an average of 21.5 million viewers in 2024.
The season opener between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots drew 25.1 million views across Peacock and NBC. This is an 11 percent decline from the league’s last year’s opener, when the Dallas Cowboys played the Philadelphia Eagles, averaging 28.3 million views.
The number matters because the 2026 opener was a rematch of Super Bowl LX. The game wasn’t without drama: Seattle QB Sam Darnold was out with a hip injury, and Drake Maye threw three bad interceptions, the last one sealing the victory for the Seahawks. Jaxson Smith-Njigba caught a 45-yard touchdown pass, while Patriots’ Romeo Doubs dropped two costly catches. There were enough moments to put either fanbase on the edge of their seats.
However, Week 1 wasn’t entirely a miss for NFL viewership.
The NFL viewership was a bag of mixed candies after Week 1
The Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers game in Australia certainly showed the NFL’s potential in the international market. Not only were there 111,021 people seated inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but the crowd was also the seventh-largest in NFL regular-season history and the fourth-largest since 2000 to surpass 100,000.
The game averaged 18.5 million U.S. viewers on Netflix, drawing 21.7 million viewers globally. The game also averaged the highest non-Christmas streaming audience for an NFL regular-season game, with 4 million viewers between the ages of 18 and 34.
ESPN also recorded its most-watched Monday Night Football game with the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos clash. The game marked what looks like a resurgence of Chiefs domination, as they trounced the Broncos after a slow start.
The Sunday Night Football opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants drew 25.7 million viewers, four percent more than last year’s Sunday Night Football, and became the show’s most-viewed opener since 2015.
This makes the viewership scenario more complicated than ever, with streaming platforms, along with cable channels, chiming in to give the stats. But the NFL seems determined to find ways to make the game more entertaining for audiences, and it will be intriguing to see how their new strategy pans out.