A matchup of 6-6 teams hardly sounds like a ratings bonanza, unless those teams are the Cowboys and Bears.
Thursday Night Football (Cowboys-Bears) averaged a 10.8 rating and 18.0 million viewers on FOX and NFL Network last night, marking the highest rated and most-watched TNF game of the season.
Including the two Thursday night games on NBC — which are not part of the TNF package — it ranks as the second-highest rated and third-most watched.
Chicago’s win delivered the eighth-largest audience in the history of the TNF package. It was the second TNF game this season to place in the top ten, with Eagles-Packers in week four ranking tenth (17.91M).
Ratings increased 61% and viewership 67% from Week 14 last season (Jaguars-Titans: 6.7, 10.76M) and 21% and 23% respectively from 2017 (Saints-Falcons: 8.9, 14.61M).
Compared to the Cowboys’ Thursday night game last season, against the Saints in Week 13, ratings fell 14% (from 12.5) and viewership 16% (from 21.32M).
Including the streaming audience on Amazon Prime, Twitch, Yahoo! Sports, and the Fox and NFL digital platforms, the game averaged 18.8 million. The TNF simulcasts are now averaging 15.7 million viewers across all platforms, (+8%).
Demographic data will be added when available.
Largest audiences in Thursday Night Football package
[Nielsen estimates from NFL Communications 12.6]
