Arrowhead Pride
Last Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys has now been identified as the most-watched regular-season game in NFL history.
According to a report from The Athletic — quoting a “source with knowledge of the data” — the Chiefs’ 31-28 loss was viewed by an average of 57.2 million viewers. That breaks the previous record of 42 million (set by the Cowboys’ 2022 Thanksgiving matchup with the New York Giants) by a whopping 36%.
We expected the game to break the viewership record. A game with substantial playoff implications on a national holiday — and featuring the old-school “America’s Team” against the 21st century’s version — almost guaranteed it. But shattering the record by such a large margin makes a strong statement about the Kansas City team’s current appeal. That is driven not only by its recent success, but also by the stardom of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the popularity of a certain celebrity couple.
Even though Dallas hasn’t won a championship for three decades — and hasn’t even advanced beyond the postseason’s Divisional round during that time — the team has continued to be one of the league’s most recognizable (and popular) brands. But last Thursday’s television ratings make it clear that the Chiefs are at the beginning of a similar period.
