It was no “Grey’s Anatomy,” but it was no “Alias,” either.
 
The post-Super Bowl broadcast of the CBS drama “Criminal Minds” drew a series-high and very respectable 26.23 million total viewers, according to Nielsen overnights.
 
While that was some 11 million fewer than ABC’s “Grey’s” delivered after last year’s big game, it marked the third-best post-Super Bowl program since 1999. And it was comfortably above the 17.4 million averaged by “Alias” in 2003, the lowest tally ever after the game.
 
CBS’s most recent previous post-Super Bowl show, the highly anticipated “Survivor: All Stars,” averaged 33.5 million in 2004.
 
The second-year “Minds” has been on the rise this season, and Sunday’s performance could give it a further boost in its Wednesday 9 p.m. slot, where it faces Fox’s dominant “American Idol.”
 
Sunday’s show hit series highs in adults 18-49 (9.9), 18-34 (8.4) and 25-54 (11.2). It even bettered the show’s premiere in September 2005, which got a big boost from a special “CSI” lead-in.
 
The big game also boosted a special edition of CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” Sunday night to a series-best 5.15 million total viewers and 2.2 in 18-49s, airing live from Miami.
 
Of course, CBS finished first for the night among 18-49s, averaging a 28.0 rating and a 57 share in primetime, according to fast nationals. ABC was second at 1.8/4, Univision third at 1.4/3, Fox fourth at 1.1/2, NBC fifth at 1.0/2 and CW sixth at 0.5/1.
 
At 7 p.m. CBS led with a 32.7 rating for the Super Bowl. ABC was second with a 1.3 for a repeat of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” Univision third with a 1.2 for “Hora Pico” and Fox fourth with a 0.9 for a repeat of “The Simpsons” and the first 30 minutes of the movie “X2: X-Men United.” NBC was fifth with a 0.5 for a repeat of “Grease: You’re the One That I Want” and CW sixth with a 0.3 for a repeat of “Beauty and the Geek.”
 
At 8 p.m. CBS fell a little, leading with a 32.5 for the Super Bowl. ABC was second with a 1.6 for a repeat of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” Univision third with a 1.3 for the first hour of “Bailando por la Boda de Mis Suenos” and Fox fourth with a 1.2 for “X-Men.” NBC was fifth with a 0.9 for another repeat of “Grease” and CW sixth with a 0.5 for another “Beauty and the Geek” repeat.
 
CBS declined once more at 9 p.m. with a 31.9 for the Super Bowl. ABC was second with a 1.7 for the first hour of the movie “Old School” with Univision third with a 1.5 for the second hour of “Bailando,” Fox fourth with a 1.3 for the end of “X-Men,” NBC fifth with a 1.1 for another “Grease” rerun and CW sixth with a 0.7 for yet another repeat of “Beauty and the Geek.”
 
At 10 p.m. CBS was on top with a 14.7 for the postgame show and “Criminal Minds,” with ABC second with a 2.4 for “Old School” and Univision and NBC tied for third at 1.5, Univision for the last hour of “Bailando” and NBC for another “Grease” repeat.
 
Among households, CBS led with a 34.6 average rating and a 52 share. ABC was second at 3.0/5, NBC third at 2.3/4, Fox fourth at 1.9/3, Univision fifth at 1.6/2 and CW sixth at 0.8/1.