Cowboys-Giants was most-watched ‘Sunday Night Football’ season opener since 2015
ESPN’s Stanford Steve said last week he was “so tired” of watching the New York Giants play the Dallas Cowboys in primetime. Clearly, America disagrees. NBC Sports announced Tuesday that Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants matchup averaged 25.7 million on NBC and Peacock, according to Nielsen Big Data and internal data, making it the most-watched…
On September 15, 2026, NBC Sports announced that the Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game on Sunday Night Football (SNF) averaged 25.7 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, making it the most-watched SNF season opener since 2015. This figure marked a 4% increase compared to last season's opener, which was also a Dallas Cowboys versus New York Giants matchup. The game's audience peaked at 29.0 million viewers during the second quarter, as the Giants secured a 28-20 victory.
The opening numbers for Sunday's game closely mirrored the 25.1 million viewers that tuned in for the NFL Kickoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots on Wednesday. This success was notable, as it was the first time two NBC Sports NFL opening-weekend games surpassed the 25 million viewer mark since 2015, when the Steelers-Patriots and Giants-Cowboys games were tied in viewership.
While this year's first two Sunday Night Football games underperformed the usual opening-weekend audience, the NFL still seemed to be off to a promising start, thanks to the improved quality of the SNF games, especially in the upcoming weeks. The Indianapolis Colts will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2, while the Denver Broncos will square off against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
