Cowboys Visit New Orleans Saints in First-Place NFC Matchup This Week on SNF – Prior 3 NBC SNF Meetings Have Topped 20 Million Viewers
85 NBC Sunday Night Football Games Have Averaged at Least 20 Million TV Viewers Since SNF Began Unprecedented 8-Season Streak as Primetime’s #1 Show – Far Surpassing Any Other Show in That Stretch
Packers and Patriots, with 17 SNF Games of 20 Million Viewers Apiece, Follow Cowboys
STAMFORD, Conn. – September 25, 2019 – The Dallas Cowboys visit the New Orleans Saints this weekend on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, aiming for their first 4-0 start since 2007, while the 2-1 Saints look to remain atop the NFC South.
The Cowboys have played a September NBC SNF game in every season since the package debuted in 2006. And since 2011 – when NBC Sunday Night Football began its streak as the #1 primetime show for an unprecedented eight consecutive years – no team has delivered more blockbuster viewership games (at least 20 million viewers) than the Cowboys.
Since the 2011 season kicked off, 85 regular-season games in the NBC SNF package averaged at least 20 million TV viewers – far more than any other primetime show in that stretch, and representing 55% of the SNF games in that time (85 of 154).
The Dallas Cowboys have played in an NFL-high 25 of those 85 NBC SNF games with at least 20 million viewers. In addition, three Cowboys-Saints NBC SNF games since 2011 have topped the 20-million mark – fourth-most among SNF matchups.
Following are the primetime shows with the most episodes averaging at least 20 million viewers since Sept. 8, 2011, when NBC SNF began its record streak as primetime’s #1 show:
| Program | # of Shows with 20 Million Viewers |
| NBC Sunday Night Football | 85 |
| NBC Olympics | 49 |
| NFL Playoffs | 17 |
| NCIS | 16 |
| NBA Finals | 9 |
| Academy Awards | 8 |
| College Football Champ. | 8 |
| World Series | 8 |
Since 2011, the Dallas Cowboys have played in a league-high 25 games which delivered at least 20 million viewers in the NBC SNF package. Below are the teams to play the most such games in the NBC SNF package over that stretch (the Saints can move into the top 10, as Sunday’s game could be their sixth SNF game to average 20 million viewers since 2011):
| Team | Games Averaging 20 Million Viewers |
| Dallas Cowboys | 25 |
| New England Patriots | 17 |
| Green Bay Packers | 17 |
| Denver Broncos | 13 |
| New York Giants | 12 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 11 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 10 |
| Chicago Bears | 8 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 6 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 6 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 6 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6 |
| -- | -- |
| New Orleans Saints | 5 |
This Sunday’s Cowboys-Saints game, with 20 million TV viewers, would tie for third among most-frequent NFL matchups to hit the viewership milestone on SNF since 2011. Following are the matchups in NBC SNF package to average at least 20 million viewers in the last eight years:
| Matchup | Games Averaging 20 Million Viewers |
| Cowboys-Giants | 9 |
| Cowboys-Eagles | 7 |
| Packers-Bears | 4 |
| Cowboys-Saints | 3 |
| Broncos-Chiefs | 3 |
| Packers-Vikings | 3 |
--SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL--