Cowboys vs. Eagles Draws 27.1M Viewers, Most-Watched NFL Game of 2023 Season

Sunday's thrilling contest between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles did massive numbers for Fox.

According to Fox Sports public relations, the Eagles' 28-23 victory over the Cowboys drew the highest ratings for any NFL telecast this season with 27.1 million viewers.

The showdown between the NFC East rivals surpassed the 27 million viewers who tuned in to watch the Kansas City Chiefs-New York Jets game at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 1 that likely received a boost because Taylor Swift was in attendance.

It's not a surprise the Cowboys-Eagles game pulled in these numbers. Dallas and Philadelphia is one of the biggest rivalries in the league. Games featuring the Cowboys ranked either first or second among all NFL broadcasts in five of the first eight weeks of the season.

It didn't hurt that the game was competitive and nearly saw the Cowboys pull off a miraculous comeback. They got the ball back at their own 14-yard line with 46 seconds remaining and trailing by five.

The Cowboys gained 75 yards on their first four plays thanks to a 36-yard pass interference call and a 15-yard roughing the passer call against the Eagles. They picked up another five yards on Jalen Carter's encroachment penalty that put the ball at Philadelphia's 6-yard line with 27 seconds to play.

Dallas immediately gave those five yards back on Tyler Smith's false start. The final four plays saw Dak Prescott get sacked by Josh Sweat for a loss of 11 yards, an incomplete pass in the end zone to Jalen Tolbert, a delay of game penalty and a 23-yard completion to CeeDee Lamb that saw him get tackled short of the goal line and fumble while attempting to lateral the ball when time expired.

The Eagles are in the driver's seat for the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the second consecutive year. They have the best record in the NFL (8-1) and haven't lost to an NFC opponent in a game started by Jalen Hurts since Week 10 of the 2022 season.

The Cowboys fell to 5-3 with the loss, but they remain in control of their destiny for a playoff spot. They are currently tied with the Seattle Seahawks for the top wild-card position in the NFC, but the Seahawks own the tiebreaker with a better record against conference opponents.