Even the presence of the Dallas Cowboys could not lift Sunday Night Football to the top spot in the NFL ratings race.
NBC drew a 13.5/20 overnight rating for Dallas/Washington on Sunday night, up 25% from a 10.8 for the comparable Patriots/Bills game in ’07, and the second-highest overnight for a Sunday Night Football game this year. Not surprisingly, the highest overnight also involved the Cowboys (14.4 for Cowboys/Packers in September).
But while NBC drew strong ratings for its Sunday night game, it was CBS that came away with the top overnight rating of the weekend. Chargers/Steelers drew a 14.3/27 overnight on CBS late Sunday afternoon, off 16% from a 17.0 for the comparable Dallas/Washington game on FOX last year. The early game on CBS drew a 10.0/20 overnight, down 12% from an 11.4 for comparable coverage on the network last year.
FOX drew strong ratings for its lone NFL telecast, as early game coverage drew an 11.2/22 overnight from 1-4:15 PM Sunday. The 11.2 marks a 15% increase over a 9.7 for the comparable telecast on the network last year, which was the first game of a doubleheader.
