The first Sunday of Week 1 ended with the latest installment of the Cowboys-Giants rivalry. As expected, it drew a big crowd.
The game averaged 25.7 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. It made 2026 the first year since 2015 with both the kickoff game and the Week 1 Sunday night game at 25 million or more.
Viewership peaked at 29.0 million in the second quarter, from 9:00 to 9:15 p.m. ET.
It was also the most-watched Week 1 Sunday night game since 2015, when the Cowboys hosted the Giants. It was a four-percent bump over last year’s Ravens-Bills classic, which Buffalo stormed back to win, 41-40.
The Patriots-Seahawks game to open the season on Wednesday night averaged 25.1 million viewers.
