Dallas Cowboys-Las Vegas Raiders makes ratings history

The Thanksgiving Day matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Las Vegas Raiders made NFL ratings history as the final numbers were announced Tuesday. The NFL saw the largest holiday viewer numbers in 23 years, and the Cowboys versus the Raiders was the third-most watched regular season game of all time.

Cowboys and Raiders TV ratings

The NFL announced that all three Thanksgiving games averaged 29.7 million viewers, the highest average viewership since 1998. While the Bears-Lions and Bills-Saints games pulled their own big numbers, it was the Cowboys-Raiders that led the way with a monster viewer count.

In what was the third-most-watched regular season game ever, 38.3 million viewers watched the overtime thriller. The initial estimate was slightly higher and would have been the second-highest ever, but the final total still impressed.

The only more-viewed games in history were in 1990 when 41.5 million people watched the Giants played the 49ers, and in 1993 where the Cowboys played the Dolphins with 38.4 million watching.

The overall average viewership for Thanksgiving day was a nine percent increase from the 2020 season, and an eight percent increase over 2019.

The Raiders beat the Cowboys 36-33 in overtime, dropping the Cowboys to 7-4 on the season. After an incredible start, the Cowboys are now only two games ahead of the Washington Football Team in the NFC East division. Four of the Cowboys’ remaining six games are against divisional rivals, including two games against Washington.

Jerry Jones claimed Raiders played “throw up ball”

“I call it ‘throw up ball,’” Jones said after the loss, predicting how many viewers tuned in to watch. “This will arguably be the most-watched game other than the Super Bowl. I hate that it got down to just throwing the ball up and getting the penalties to get you big plays.”

Cowboys defensive back Anthony Brown had a rough night with penalties as he was called for four pass interference penalties. The final one he received was a tough break, as the play appeared to show no contact with the receiver.

However, because Brown did not turn his head around and was face-guarding on the play, pass interference was called and set up the Raiders for a very makeable field goal.

The play drew criticism from Cowboys fans and players alike, as the game already featured both teams getting called for numerous penalties. Both the Cowboys and the Raiders received 14 penalties each.

Rookie cornerback Kelvin Joseph was ejected earlier in the game alongside Las Vegas Raiders safety Roderic Teamer. Joseph expressed how upset he was with the late pass interference call while not on the field as he had to finish the game in the locker room.

With access to his social media, Joseph had a simple message for the officials who ejected him after another pass interference call that likely ended the game.

“Bad call ref.”