Weather was the NFL's friend, if not for the Metrodome and the Vikings, at least for the TV ratings.
via press release:
WEEK 14 FEATURED MOST-WATCHED SUNDAY AFTERNOON &
SUNDAY NIGHT GAMES THIS SEASON
NBC’s Eagles-Cowboys Most-Watched Sunday Night Game in History
CBS National Telecast Tops 30 Million Viewers
Local Ratings Top All 30 Markets
Week 14 delivered the most-watched Sunday afternoon and Sunday night games this season. The CBS national telecast (mostly Patriots-Bears) was the most-watched show among all programs with 30.2 million viewers -- the 14th time in 14 weeks that an NFL game telecast has been television’s most-watched program.
Eagles-Cowboys on NBC is the most-watched NBC Sunday night game in history and ranked as the week’s most-watched primetime program with 25.7 million viewers.
Fifteen NFL game telecasts this season have been watched by 25 million viewers – up from six at this point last year and topping the total for the full 2009 season (nine), according to The Nielsen Company.
NFL games account for the top 15 and 20 of the 22 most-watched programs on television since the beginning of the NFL season:
| Program | Viewers |
| 1. FOX Thanksgiving (Saints-Cowboys), 11/25 | 31.9 million |
| 2. CBS Sunday National (mostly Patriots-Bears), 12/12 | 30.2 million |
| 3. FOX Sunday National (mostly Packers-Eagles), 9/12 | 28.0 million |
| 4. CBS Sunday National (mostly Colts-Eagles), 11/7 | 27.8 million |
| 5. CBS Thanksgiving (Patriots-Lions), 11/25 | 27.8 million |
| 6. NBC Thursday Night Kickoff Game (Vikings-Saints), 9/9 | 27.5 million |
| 7. FOX Sunday National (mostly Cowboys-Colts), 12/5 | 27.4 million |
| 8. CBS Sunday National (mostly Patriots-Jets), 9/19 | 27.0 million |
| 9. FOX Sunday National (mostly Eagles-Bears), 11/28 | 26.6 million |
| 10. FOX Sunday National (mostly Cowboys-Giants), 11/14 | 26.2 million |
| 11. FOX Sunday National (mostly Cowboys-Vikings), 10/17 | 26.0 million |
| 12. NBC Sunday Night Football (Eagles-Cowboys), 12/12 | 25.73 million |
| 13. NBC Sunday Night Football (Vikings-Packers), 10/24 | 25.68 million |
| 14. NBC Sunday Night Football (Cowboys-Redskins), 9/12 | 25.3 million |
| 15. FOX Sunday National (mostly Vikings-Patriots), 10/31 | 25.2 million |
| 16. Dancing with the Stars: Results Show (season finale part 2), 11/23 | 24.2 million |
| 17. Dancing with the Stars (season finale part 1), 11/22 | 23.7 million |
| 18. CBS Sunday National (mostly Colts-Patriots), 11/21 | 23.6 million |
| 19. NBC Sunday Night Football (Giants-Eagles), 11/21 | 23.2 million |
| 20. CBS Sunday National (mostly Colts-Broncos), 9/26 | 23.1 million |
| 20. FOX Sunday National (mostly Redskins-Eagles), 10/3 | 23.1 million |
| 20. NBC Sunday Night Football (Giants-Colts), 9/19 | 23.1 million |
Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company, 9/9-12/12/10
Locally, NFL games top the ratings in NFL markets 90 percent of the time – the highest rate in history after 14 weeks. Following is the list of all 30 NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of Dec. 6 - 12:
| Week of 12/6-12/12 |
HH |
HH |
RTG |
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| Market | Game | Date | RTG | SHR | Rank |
| New Orleans | Rams at Saints | 12/12/10 | 53.7 | 72 | 1 |
| Pittsburgh | Bengals at Steelers | 12/12/10 | 50.1 | 74 | 1 |
| Milwaukee | Packers at Lions | 12/12/10 | 48.6 | 70 | 1 |
| Boston | Jets at Patriots | 12/6/10 | 42.2 | 62 | 1 |
| Kansas City | Chiefs at Chargers | 12/12/10 | 40.0 | 61 | 1 |
| Philadelphia | Eagles at Cowboys | 12/12/10 | 38.4 | 51 | 1 |
| Chicago | Patriots at Bears | 12/12/10 | 38.2 | 59 | 1 |
| Dallas | Eagles at Cowboys | 12/12/10 | 38.0 | 55 | 1 |
| Indianapolis | Colts at Titans | 12/9/10 | 37.6 | 53 | 1 |
| San Diego | Chiefs at Chargers | 12/12/10 | 35.5 | 63 | 1 |
| Cincinnati | Bengals at Steelers | 12/12/10 | 33.3 | 55 | 1 |
| Cleveland | Browns at Bills | 12/12/10 | 32.2 | 57 | 1 |
| Nashville | Colts at Titans | 12/9/10 | 32.2 | 45 | 1 |
| Jacksonville | Raiders at Jaguars | 12/12/10 | 31.5 | 51 | 1 |
| St. Louis | Rams at Saints | 12/12/10 | 28.1 | 42 | 1 |
| Atlanta | Falcons at Panthers | 12/12/10 | 25.8 | 43 | 1 |
| Detroit | Packers at Lions | 12/12/10 | 24.9 | 45 | 1 |
| Washington, DC | Buccaneers at Redskins | 12/12/10 | 24.9 | 47 | 1 |
| Miami | Dolphins at Jets | 12/12/10 | 22.9 | 42 | 1 |
| Phoenix | Broncos at Cardinals | 12/12/10 | 22.9 | 44 | 1 |
| Seattle | Seahawks at 49ers | 12/12/10 | 20.4 | 44 | 1 |
| Tampa | Buccaneers at Redskins | 12/12/10 | 20.0 | 38 | 1 |
| Charlotte | Falcons at Panthers | 12/12/10 | 19.7 | 35 | 1 |
| New York | Dolphins at Jets | 12/12/10 | 19.3 | 34 | 1 |
| Denver | Broncos at Cardinals | 12/12/10 | 18.0 | 39 | 1 |
| San Fran-Oakland | Seahawks at 49ers | 12/12/10 | 14.3 | 39 | 1 |
| Houston | Eagles at Cowboys | 12/12/10 | 17.1 | 27 | 1 |
| Baltimore | Patriots at Bears | 12/12/10 | 20.4 | 34 | 1 |
| Minneapolis | Packers at Lions | 12/12/10 | 20.7 | 43 | 1 |
| Buffalo | Dolphins at Jets | 12/12/10 | 17.9 | 28 | 1 |
