Dallas Cowboys Embarrassing Loss to San Francisco 49ers Seen By Record-Setting Audience

The Dallas Cowboys laid down and took a 42-10 beating from the San Francisco 49ers for all of America to see.

NBC's "Sunday Night Football" pregame festivities made sure that the viewers knew  they were about to witness one of the most anticipated matchups of the regular season with the Dallas Cowboys facing the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday.

And based on the record-setting viewing numbers, it's clear that fanbases for two of the most legendary franchises in the sport agreed with all the hype. But instead, 26.1 million viewers watched the Cowboys - as receiver CeeDee Lamb phrased it - "(Bleeped) the bed" in a 42-10 blowout loss to the defending NFC champs. This marked the most peak viewers NBC has had for a Week 5 game.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (center) is tackled by San Francisco 49ers cornerback Isaiah Oliver (26) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (57) during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium / USA TODAY SPORTS

The audience stats are far from the only numbers that set a new mark, as the Cowboys scored a season-low 10 points and gave up more points (42) than they had through the first four games combined (41). A defense that looked all-world to begin the season instead allowed the Niners to finish tied for the second-most points ever scored in a game in the all-time series.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn's usually stout defense was anything but.

"When you get your (butt) kicked, you really only got a couple choices in a fight: You pout about it or you get back up and say, ‘Bring it on’ and you get rocking again," Quinn said. "We’re not going to let this game beat us twice.”

The Cowboys will look to prove that the blowout loss is fueling them forward when they take on the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Monday night.