The shorthanded Cowboys against the winless Saints turned out to be a solid matchup for Sunday Night Football.
The Week 4 Cowboys/Saints Sunday Night Football game drew a 14.8 overnight rating on NBC, up 8% from the same matchup last year (13.7), up 9% from Patriots/Falcons in 2013 (13.6) and the highest Week 4 SNF overnight since Giants/Eagles in 2012 (15.6).
The Cowboys played without star QB Tony Romo and the Saints entered the game with an 0-3 record — both departures from last year, when Romo was healthy and the Saints were a slightly better 1-2. This year’s game went into overtime, however, while last year’s was an ugly rout.
So far this season, all five NFL telecasts on NBC have had an increase in overnight ratings — the network’s longest streak to start the season since resuming NFL coverage in the 2006-07 season.
New Orleans was the top market Sunday night with a 46.1 rating, followed by Dallas-Ft. Worth (37.3). San Antonio (28.3), Albuquerque (23.6) and Austin, TX (23.0) rounded out the top five.
(Sun. numbers from NBC Sports)
