Sunday’s late-afternoon showdown between the Patriots and Cowboys—two of the most prestigious franchises in all of sports—was as entertaining as any game we’ve seen in the NFL this season, producing 64 points and over 900 yards of offense. And America, it would seem, loved every second of it, flocking to CBS in record numbers.
Per media critic Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated, Sunday’s Patriots/Cowboys broadcast attracted an averaged audience of 23.2 million, making it the network’s most-watched national game since 2015. Viewership peaked between 7:30-7:45 with nearly 30 million (29.7) tuning in to see the game’s climax in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Sunday’s thriller in Foxboro was also a smash hit on Viacom-owned Paramount+, becoming the most-streamed regular-season game in NFL history, according to CBS Sports PR.
Evidently, New England’s brand, even in its post-Tom Brady era, still carries significant weight. That’s always been true of the Cowboys, who, for better or worse, remain “America’s team.” Marquee matchups of this immense magnitude rarely live up to the hype, but this one surprisingly did, featuring no shortage of memorable plays, from Trevon Diggs’ momentum-shifting pick-six to Mac Jones’ late touchdown strike to Kendrick Bourne, putting New England ahead (though obviously not for long) with 2:11 to go in the fourth quarter.
CBS’ success continued overseas with Dolphins/Jaguars reaching an audience of just under seven million (6.998), making it the most-watched London game in five years. For this week’s national game, the trio of Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson will head to Tampa Bay, where Tom Brady and the Buccaneers will play host to the visiting Bears in a battle of NFC playoff hopefuls Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.
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