Leagues

Chiefs, Cowboys Dominate Most-Watched NFL Games Halfway Through Season

Halfway through the NFL’s regular season, the Chiefs are responsible for the two most-watched games, but the Cowboys occupy five spots in the 10 most-watched games.

By David Rumsey

Nov 06, 2025 | 12:11 pm

Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) runs with the ball during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit:

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The battle for the moniker of America’s Team is heating up—at least on TV.

Halfway through the NFL’s regular season, the Chiefs are responsible for the two most-watched games, but the Cowboys occupy a league-high five spots in the ten most-watched games through Week 9.

Here are the ten highest game audiences as the NFL enters Week 10, and crosses this season’s halfway point:

Eagles-Chiefs (Week 2): 33.8 million on Fox
Chiefs-Bills (Week 9): 30.9 million on CBS
Cowboys-Eagles (Week 1): 28.3 million on NBC
Lions-Chiefs (Week 6): 27.4 million on NBC
49ers-Buccaneers (Week 6): 26.9 million on CBS
Packers-Cowboys (Week 4): 26.9 million on NBC
Commanders-Cowboys (Week 7): 25.63 million on Fox
Packers-Steelers (Week 8): 25.5 million on NBC
Cowboys-Bears (Week 3): 25.47 million on Fox
Cowboys-Broncos (Week 8): 25.33 million on CBS

Kansas City has played in three of the ten most-watched games this season (all inside the top 4), and its Week 3 Sunday Night Football matchup against the Giants narrowly missed the top-10 list, drawing 25.3 million viewers on NBC. That game came after an 0–2 start for the defending AFC champions.

While Dallas is struggling on the field with a 3-5-1 record, NFL fans have still tuned in for many of the team’s most visible games in prime time and late Sunday afternoon windows.

The Chiefs and Cowboys are set to play each other on Thanksgiving Day, in what should likely be the most-watched game of the season, and even break records for NFL telecasts on the holiday.

Also of note on the top-10 list, the Eagles are the only other team to appear twice, perhaps not coincidentally, in games against the Chiefs and Cowboys.

Overall, NFL game broadcasts are averaging 17.8 million viewers across all networks through the first nine weeks of the season, up 7% from the same period in 2024, and the league’s highest mark since the 2015 season. The TV ratings boost coincides with the implementation of Nielsen’s new Big Data + Panel methodology being used to determine audience figures.