An extra week of games, close finishes and a non-election year helped propel the NFL to its highest regular-season ratings in six years.

The 272 regular-season games averaged 17.1 million viewers across television and digital platforms, that is a 10% increase over 2020 and is the league’s highest average since 2015.

It was expected that the audience would increase after the 2020 season was played in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, with empty stadiums presenting a strange viewing dynamic, and many people’s viewing habits changing.