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 NBC Sunday Night Football season opener since 2015, which, sorry Steve, also happened to be Giants-Cowboys. That number was also a four percent increase from last season’s SNF opener (Bills-Ravens).

Audiences peaked at 29.0 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9-9:15 p.m. ET) in the Giants’ eventual 28-2o win.

Cowboys-Giants Sunday Night Football Opener on NBC & Peacock Averaged 25.7 Million Viewers (Best in 11 Years) and Peaked at 29.0 Million Viewers

Details: https://t.co/f31ooE1txXpic.twitter.com/E4d72Mnkth

— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) September 15, 2026

Turns out, the old adage is true. If you put the Dallas Cowboys in primetime and put them up against a team in the New York market, you’re probably going to do well.

Sunday’s numbers also roughly matched those from Wednesday’s NFL Kickoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, which averaged 25.1 million on NBC and Peacock. While that was the lowest season-opening broadcast audience since 2022, it did come with some caveats.

For what it’s worth, it was the first time two NBC Sports NFL opening-weekend games averaged 25+ million viewers since 2015, when Steelers-Patriots (Thursday) and Giants-Cowboys (Sunday) were both decided by one score.

While the Wednesday opener and NFL Melbourne game on Netflix dampened the numbers the league usually gets out of the gate, it appears things are going just fine for the NFL this season, especially given how quickly the quality of SNF games improves. The Indianapolis Colts take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2, while the Denver Broncos tangle with the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3.

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