Don’t look now, but the Dallas Cowboys are the NFL’s hottest team
The Dallas Cowboys may be on of the NFL’s hottest teams, but can they make the playoffs? USA TODAY Sports’ Jarrett bell breaks it down.
Sports Pulse
The Thanksgiving game between the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs set a new regular-season viewership record at XX.X million.The matchup surpassed the previous record set during a 2022 Thanksgiving game between the Cowboys and New York Giants.Overall, NFL ratings have seen an upward trend in 2025 across different game slots.
The NFL’s two biggest draws combined with the Thanksgiving holiday netted the league a new regular-season viewership record.
By a lot.
The Dallas Cowboys’ 31-28 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, Nov. 27 pulled in 57.2 million viewers on CBS, a person with knowledge of the ratings confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the ratings were not publicly released by Nielsen. The Athletic was first to report the viewership numbers.
The previous record for most-watched regular season game was 42.1 million from a Thanksgiving matchup in 2022 between the Cowboys and New York Giants.
The early-window game between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving drew 47.7 million viewers, according to FOX, which also broke the previous record and is now the second most-watched regular-season game
Going into the season, NFL officials recognized the significance of putting the Chiefs-Cowboys game on Thanksgiving, a holiday synonymous with football.
Nielsen revamped its ratings reporting prior to the start of the 2025 NFL season to account for more fans who watch on smartphones or smart TVs, in addition to its continuing enhancement of out-of-home viewing data.
From international games to “Thursday Night Football” to the traditional Sunday afternoon windows, NFL ratings are up in 2025 and following the upward trajectory from the nadir of the 2020 season.