Cowboys-Lions draws second-best NFC Wild Card ratings for Fox

The NFC Wild Card Playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions broadcast on FOX was the network’s second best Wild Card game in terms of viewership

Sunday's NFC Wild Card Playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions broadcast on FOX was the network’s second-highest rated Wild Card game in terms of viewership on record, reports Sports Business Daily’s Austin Karp.

The game, won by Dallas 24-20, had 25.0 overnight rating. Final viewership numbers should be released later Monday.

The Lions-Cowboys game is only topped by last year’s Wild Card playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers, which had a 27.7 overnight rating and was watched by an estimated 47.1 million viewers.

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By comparison, last year's AFC Championship game between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos had 51.3 million viewers on CBS, while the 49ers-Seattle Seahawks NFC Championship Game on FOX was watched by 55.9 million viewers.

The Seahawks’ 43-8 victory over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII on FOX was seen by 112.5 million viewers, the most-watched program in television history in the United States.

- Scooby Axson