The only place the Cowboys scored Sunday was in the ratings.
Sunday’s Week 15 NFL singleheader window, featuring Cowboys-Colts in 46% of markets, earned an 11.7 rating and 20.0 million viewers on FOX — up 10% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year (ft. Packers-Panthers: 10.6, 18.1M) and up 8% and 7% respectively from 2016 (ft. Lions-Giants: 10.8, 18.7M).
The telecast, which also included Packers-Bears in 11% of markets, ranks as the highest rated singleheader since Week 15 of the 2015 season (ft. Panthers-Giants: 14.5). It was also the most-watched since Week 4 of last season (ft. Rams-Cowboys: 20.1M).
The singleheader ranked second for the weekend among NFL games, outperforming both Chargers-Chiefs on Thursday Night Football (10.5, 17.8M) and Eagles-Rams on Sunday Night Football (10.8, 18.1M). Sunday marked just the third time this season that the singleheader has pulled a larger audience than SNF.
As is usually the case, the Cowboys have been a reliably strong draw this season. Of the 14 NFL windows this season that have featured Dallas — either nationally or in a plurality of markets — 12 have increased, including the past eight. That comes with the caveat that most of the year-ago windows did not feature the Cowboys.
Only three windows this season featured the Cowboys both this year and last. Two of those three — against Washington on Thanksgiving and New Orleans the week after — have increased.
The full list of Week 15 NFL ratings is available here.
Ratings For Cowboys Games vs. Last Year
| # | This year | Last year | ||||||
| Window | Vs | Rtg | Vwrs | Window | Vs | Rtg | Vwrs | |
| 1 | Late DH (FOX) | CAR (80%) | 13.1 | 23.3M | SNF (NBC) | NYG | 13.4 | 24.4M |
| 2 | SNF (NBC) | NYG | 11.7 | 20.7M | Late DH (FOX) | DEN (81%) | 14.3 | 26.0M |
| 3 | Late DH (FOX) | SEA (85%) | 12.7 | 22.2M | MNF (ESPN) | ARIZ | 8.2 | 13.7M |
| 4 | Single (FOX) | DET (33%) | 10.3 | 18.0M | Single (FOX) | LAR (32%) | 11.5 | 20.1M |
| 5 | SNF (NBC) | HOU | 10.7 | 18.6M | Late DH (FOX) | GB | 13.6 | 23.9M |
| 6 | Late DH (CBS) | JAX (85%) | 10.2 | 17.6M | BYE | |||
| 7 | Late DH (CBS) | WSH (80%) | 12.2 | 20.9M | Single (FOX) | SF (36%) | 9.5 | 16.1M |
| 8 | BYE | Late DH (FOX) | WSH | 12.7 | 22.0M | |||
| 9 | MNF (ESPN) | TEN | 7.2 | 11.8M | Late DH (CBS) | KC | 12.5 | 21.7M |
| 10 | SNF (NBC) | PHI | 11.5 | 20.1M | Late DH (FOX) | ATL (86%) | 12.8 | 22.0M |
| 11 | Early DH (FOX) | ATL (71%) | 7.9 | 13.3M | SNF (NBC) | PHI | 11.9 | 21.1M |
| 12 | Holiday (FOX) | WSH | 12.5 | 30.5M | Holiday (CBS) | LAC | 11.1 | 26.3M |
| 13 | TNF (FOX/NFLN) | NO | 12.5 | 21.3M | TNF (NBC/NFLN) | WSH | 9.4 | 15.6M |
| 14 | Late DH (FOX) | PHI (84%) | 14.2 | 25.1M | Early DH (FOX) | NYG (66%) | 9.1 | 15.5M |
| 15 | Single (FOX) | IND (46%) | 11.7 | 20.0M | SNF (NBC) | OAK | 11.1 | 19.2M |
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 12.18]
