The NFL has been a media juggernaut for decades, routinely holding the top spots for most-watched telecasts each year. The Super Bowl achieves the best television ratings every year and has since 1967.
But outside of the Super Bowl, the NFL has managed to attract over 40 million viewers for regular season games four times. By comparison, the NBA Finals has managed a high of 29.04 million viewers during the 1998 series between the Bulls and Jazz.
The most-watched NFL game is the Cowboys and Giants’ Thanksgiving Day game, attracting 42.1 million American viewers in 2022.
It was part of the NFL’s most-watched Thanksgiving Day ever as 138 million total viewers watched the three games played that day.
Dallas, already the most popular and valuable franchise in the league, beat their division rivals 28-20 to sweep the season series.
The second most watched NFL regular season game, drawing 41.5 million viewers, is the 1990 matchup between the Giants and 49ers. The two teams were the best in the NFC and each had only one loss on the season.
The Monday Night game had a 27 Nielsen rating, the second-highest rating for a game at that time. New York toughed out a win on the road, 7-3, on the way to winning the Super Bowl that season.
The top four most-watched NFL games all involved teams from the NFC East.
No other team was represented more often on the list than the Cowboys.
Dallas has been a part of eight of the ten most-watched NFL games. Their lowest-watched game on the list was a 2015 matchup against the Panthers, drawing 32.5 million viewers.
Only two games on the list weren’t Thanksgiving Day games. One of those two games was played on Christmas Eve.
The NFL’s calendar takeover leaves little space for competing sports when NFL games are on television.
Ranking The Most Watched NFL Regular Season Games
Here is the list of the top 10 most-watched NFL games based on reported U.S. viewership. The list was compiled using historical data from SportsMediaWatch and Statista.
- Updated: July 14, 2024
| Ranking | Date | Results | Reported U.S. Viewership |
| 1 | November 24, 2022 | Cowboys (28) vs Giants (20) | 42.1 million |
| 2 | December 3, 1990 | 49ers (7) vs Giants (3) | 41.5 million |
| 3 | November 23, 2023 | Cowboys (45) vs Washington (10) | 41.4 million |
| 4 | November 25, 2021 | Raiders (36) vs Cowboys (33) | 40.8 million |
| 5 | December 2nd, 1985 | Bears (24) vs Dolphins (38) | 39 million |
| 6 | November 24, 2016 | Washington (26) vs Cowboys (31) | 35.1 million |
| 7 | November 23, 2023 | Packers (29) vs Lions (22) | 33.7 million |
| 8 | October 5, 1992 | Cowboys (7) vs Eagles (31) | 32.9 million |
| 9 | November 28, 2019 | Bills (26) vs Cowboys (15) | 32.6 million |
| 10 | November 26, 2015 | Panthers (33) vs Cowboys (14) | 32.5 million |
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