The Kansas City-Dallas connection flexed its muscles on Thanksgiving.
The 31-28 Cowboys victory over the Chiefs garnered a record-breaking figure in the ratings, with CBS announcing that a whopping 57.2 million viewers tuned in for the big game, the most for any regular-season game in NFL history.
This beats the previous record by a wide margin, when 42 million viewers tuned in to the Cowboys vs. Giants Thanksgiving game in 2022.
CeeDee Lamb and Cowboys teammates enjoy some Thanksgiving turkey after beating the Chiefs. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Both teams being in the thick of the playoff race and a thrilling Dallas victory coming down to the final whistle likely played a huge role in the ratings boon.
The Packers vs. Lions early game, which began at 1 p.m. ET on Fox and Tubi, averaged 47.7 million viewers.
The night game between the Ravens and Bengals drew 28.4 million viewers, the most of any late window game in Thanksgiving history.
Patrick Mahomes escapes pressure from the Cowboys. Getty ImagesIt is worth noting that Nielsen has changed the way it tracks this data to give more accurate numbers for out-of-home viewership as the world delves into streaming and cable numbers.
Regardless, the powers that be at the NFL clearly knew what they were doing by putting two big draws in the Cowboys and Chiefs together in the second Thanksgiving window, appealing to an enormous audience that is boosted by the fact that Taylor Swift is engaged to Kansas City star tight end Travis Kelce.
The Cowboys being one of the most popular teams in the NFL, with the new viewership that Swift was able to bring the Chiefs when she began dating Kelce, is just one way the networks benefited on Thanksgiving even without the star singer in attendance.
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s relationship has been a big piece of the ratings boom for the Chiefs. Getty ImagesPrevious reports stated that Swift brought in nearly a billion dollars in revenue to the NFL since 2023 with increased social media, news and digital coverage.
