Tom Brady returning to Foxborough was the biggest match in the regular season. However, it nearly had the ratings to prove the same as well.

NBC revealed Monday that Sunday night’s clash between the Patriots and the Buccaneers saw its viewership leap to approximately 28.5 million because of Tom Brady’s return to Gillette Stadium, making it the second most-watched Sunday Night Football game ever.

28.5M views for Tom Brady in New England

The hype created around Brady’s historic return to Foxborough played an important role in driving viewership from different parts of the world. The total viewership of the Bucs’ 19-17 win over the Patriots included all NBC platforms (NBC TV, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital, NFL Digital).

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Incidentally, the game delivered a 34 share, which is recorded as the highest for any contest in the history of the Sunday Night Football package. Furthermore, NBC’s TV coverage averaged approximately 27.2 million viewers alone.

With this enormous viewership and fanbase, the most anticipated Sunday night clash produced one of the most lucrative telecasts in the history of SNF but fell short a few hundred thousand views to become the most-watched.

The most-watched SNF game ever

The most-watched Sunday Night Football match, however, was the last game of the 2012 NFL season, where the Redskins met the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football in Washington to decide the winner of the NFC East division.

Also Read: WATCH: Tom Brady And Bill Belichick Share An Awkward Hug After Patriots vs Buccaneers Fixture

The match ended in a 28–18 scoreline, in favor of the Redskins, as they progressed to their first NFC East title since 1999, handing the Cowboys a ticket back home.

Their intense rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Football Team resulted in the most-watched Sunday Night Football game ever in its 15-year history so far. 30.3 million viewers viewed the game, making it even more popular than Tom Brady’s homecoming game this Sunday.

However, the clash between Tom Brady and his former teammates ended in a dramatic win for the 44-year-old quarterback, which supposedly gave one of the most intense nail-biting experiences so far this season.

Also Read: Tom Brady Creates Another Unique Piece of History After Win Over New England Patriots