Patrick Mahomes breaks records and gets his secret weapon back

Patrick Mahomes remains one of the most recognizable faces in the NFL. He’s also the driving force behind the season’s highest ratings. In the middle of a shaky campaign for the Kansas City Chiefs (3-3 record), the signal-caller received two pieces of news that could shift the team’s momentum. One is a historic audience milestone, and the other is the return of Rashee Rice, one of his most explosive targets.

According to data shared by Essentiallysports, the Week 6 matchup between the Chiefs and Lions averaged 27.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock. That made it the second most-watched October broadcast in Sunday Night Football history—only Tom Brady’s return to New England in 2021 drew more. Patrick Mahomes didn’t just lead his team on the field; he was the magnet pulling millions of screens across the country.

Breaking barriers

The 2025 season is rewriting the playbook. By Week 6, the NFL had already surpassed 25 million viewers in four separate games, matching the entire total from 2024. The overall average viewership (TV + digital) stands at 18.58 million, the highest since 2010. And Patrick Mahomes is right at the center of this media surge. His Week 5 showdown against the Jaguars drew 22.3 million viewers on ESPN—the network’s biggest Week 5 audience since 2006. Plus, the Super Bowl rematch against the Eagles in September topped 33 million.

The #Lions at #Chiefs averaged 27.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, based on official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics. It is the 2nd most watched second-most watched October audience in the history of NBC SNF.

— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) October 14, 2025

But it’s not all about the spotlight. The second big update for Patrick Mahomes is the return of Rashee Rice, who served a six-game suspension for his involvement in a car accident. Rice is now cleared to play this Sunday against the Raiders, and his presence is expected to boost an offense that’s lacked vertical punch and red-zone efficiency.

Offensive chemistry restored

During Rice’s absence, Patrick Mahomes leaned on Travis Kelce, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, and Tyquan Thornton, while Xavier Worthy remained sidelined with a shoulder injury. The group held up, but Rice’s absence was felt. In his rookie season, Rice racked up 938 yards and seven touchdowns, quickly becoming one of Mahomes’ favorite targets. His return strengthens Andy Reid’s offensive scheme and reignites the chemistry that made the Chiefs so dangerous in 2024.

 

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Una publicación compartida de Patrick Mahomes II (@patrickmahomes)

The locker room never stopped backing him. In Week 2, several players wore “Free 4” shirts in support of Rice, showing that his value goes beyond the stat sheet. Now, with Patrick Mahomes in record-setting form and Rice back in action, Kansas City has every reason to believe. The AFC playoff race is wide open, and the Chiefs are ready to reclaim their spotlight.