Ratings: AFC Championship rules week with 57.9 million viewers

There was no close call at the top of the ratings chart for the week that ended Jan. 24: The AFC Championship game on Fox, which saw the New Orleans Saints topple the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday evening, won the week decisively with a stunning 57.9 million viewers, claiming the most-watched show on the broadcast networks. Fox also landed the second and third place positions, of course, with its two editions of American Idol on Tuesday and Wednesday, which drew 26.9 million and 26.4 million viewers, respectively.

The rest of the Top 20 was filled with the usual suspects, from CBS’ The Mentalist and Criminal Minds to ABC’s The Bachelor. One premiere, Fox’s Human Target at No. 17 (10.5 million viewers), made the cut. Rather exciting, however, was the fact that a total of four comedies were included in the usual drama- and reality-heavy bunch, from CBS’ Two and a Half Men at No. 5 (16.3 million viewers) down to ABC’s Modern Family at No. 2 (9.8 million viewers).

The full Top 20—including viewership totals—is after the jump.

1. NFC Championship: Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints | Fox | 57.9 million

2. American Idol Wednesday | Fox | 26.9 million

3. American Idol Tuesday | Fox | 26.4 million

4. Two and a Half Men | CBS | 16.3 million

5. The Big Bang Theory | CBS | 15.0 million

6. Criminal Minds | CBS | 14.9 million

7. The Mentalist | CBS | 14.6 million

8. CSI | CBS | 14.3 million

9. NCIS (R) | CBS | 14.2 million

10. CSI: NY | CBS | 13.5 million

11. CSI: Miami | CBS | 13.2 million

12. Grey’s Anatomy | ABC | 12.7 million

13. NCIS: Los Angeles (R) | CBS | 12.3 million

14. Bones | Fox | 12.0 million

15. 24 | Fox | 11.1 million

16. The Bachelor | ABC | 10.7 million

17. Human Target | Fox | 10.5 million

18. How I Met Your Mother | CBS | 10.4 million

19. The Biggest Loser | NBC | 9.9 million

20. Modern Family | ABC | 9.8 million

Source: Nielsen