Cowboys-Patriots Game Draws Enormous Viewership
By Bobby Burack | Nov 26 2019
The Patriots' 13-9 win over the Cowboys was the highest-rated NFL game of the season. According to SBJ editor Austin Karp, the matchup finished with 29.5 million viewers. This the highest regular season viewership average since last Thanksgiving's Cowboys-Redskins game.
Fox's Cowboys-Patriots telecast finished with 29.5 million viewers on Sunday. Best for NFL regular-season game since last year on Thanksgiving (Cowboys-Redskins 30.5 million viewers). Cowboys-Pats is easily best for 2019 season to date, passing 24.9 million for CBS' Pats-Eagles
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) November 26, 2019
This is a massive number. And not topping a Thanksgiving matchup doesn't mean much as the holiday tradition games routinely draw increased viewership from what a specific game would draw on a regular Sunday.
This isn't mind-boggling to figure out. The Cowboys are the biggest draw, not just in the NFL, but in sports. Combine that with the Brady/Belichick Patriots, in a game that came down to the wire, the game closely resembled how the NFL would have written the outcome in Hollywood. The NFL has to be so happy that the bogus, controversial tripping call late in the game now won't be keeping Roger Goodell up at night.
And it gets better for the NFL: in two days the Cowboys play the Bills on Thanksgiving. The prediction here is will top this number and go over 30 million.