Cowboys win over Eagles NBC is most-watched 'Sunday Night Football' game this season

24.3 million tune in to battle for first place in NFC East to rank as most-watched Sunday primetime show since Academy Awards

The Dallas Cowboys' 38-27 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in a battle for first place in the NFC East averaged 24.3 million viewers to rank as NBC's most-watched "Sunday Night Football" game of the season (excluding NBC's Thursday night "NFL Kickoff" game) and television's most-watched Sunday primetime program since the Academy Awards on March 2 (38.3 million on ABC), according to official national data released today by The Nielsen Company.

Through 17 NFL telecasts, NBC's "SNF" is primetime television's No. 1 show in HH rating (12.6), average viewership (21.5 million viewers), and in the Adults 18-49 demographic (7.8 rating), based on live + same day metrics.

The 24.3 million viewers for the Cowboys' victory, highlighted by Tony Romo's three touchdown passes to Dez Bryant, topped the 23.8 million who watched Oct. 19 as Denver QB Peyton Manning broke Brett Favre's record for career touchdown passes. In addition, Dallas-Philadelphia exceeded by 48 percent the viewership for last year's Week 15 "SNF" game (16.4 million for Bengals-Steelers).

The only primetime game to top Cowboys-Eagles this season is Packers-Seahawks in the Thursday "NFL Kickoff" game on NBC (27.1 million viewers Sept. 4).

Cowboys-Eagles on "Sunday Night Football" (8:31-11:40 p.m. ET) was the most-watched and highest rated (14.3/24) primetime show of the week based on live + same day metrics, and also topped primetime in Adults 18-49 and all key male demographics.