Super Bowl ratings may have been slightly down for NBC, but the network’s entertainment division was buoyed by the showing of “This is Us” after the game.

The second-year drama scored with an episode that explains how the character of Jack Pearson, played by Milo Ventimiglia, died in the aftermath of a fire. The show was seen by just under 27 million people, its largest audience ever and the highest for any show with the coveted post-Super Bowl time slot in six years.

NBC’s habit is generally to give its hottest entertainment show that slot when it is telecasting the game. Three years ago, it was “The Blacklist,” and six years ago it was “The Voice.”

The Super Bowl itself was seen by 103.4 million people, down 7 percent from the 2017 game. It will still wind up the most-watched television program for the year.

With the help of the game, NBC averaged 23.1 million viewers in primetime. CBS had 6.1 million viewers, ABC had 3.8 million, Fox had 2.9 million, Univision and the CW tied with 1.42 million, ION Television had 1.3 million and Telemundo had 1.1 million.

Fox News Channel was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 3.75 million viewers in prime time. MSNBC had 1.86 million, USA had 1.459 million, HGTV had 1.455 million and History had 1.28 million.

ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 9.3 million viewers, NBC’s “Nightly News” and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.9 million.

Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Jan. 29-Feb. 4. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.

1. Super Bowl: Philadelphia vs. New England, NBC, 103.39 million.
2. “Super Bowl Post-Game,” NBC, 73.45 million.
3. “This is Us,” NBC, 26.97 million.
4. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 14.7 million.
5. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 12.92 million.
6. “State of the Union,” Fox News, 11.72 million.
7. “State of the Union Analysis,” Fox News, 10.51 million.
8. “State of the Union Preview,” Fox News, 9.95 million.
9. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 9.32 million.
10. “Mom,” CBS, 9.11 million.
11. “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC, 8.94 million.
12. “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS, 8.56 million.
13. “Ellen’s Game of Games,” NBC, 7.58 million.
14. “Super Bowl’s Great Commercials,” CBS, 7.31 million.
15. “Kevin Can Wait,” CBS, 7.28 million.
16. “MacGyver,” CBS, 7.27 million.
17. “Life in Pieces,” CBS, 7.11 million.
18. “Chicago PD,” NBC, 6.72 million.
19. “State of the Union Response,” Fox News, 6.72 million.
20. “Seal Team,” CBS, 6.54 million.

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.; CBS is a division of CBS Corp.; Fox News Channel is owned by 21st Century Fox; NBC is owned by NBC Universal.