National Football League

Eagles-Cowboys ties best Sunday night rating

Published Dec. 13, 2010 12:45 p.m. ET

foxsports

Fans will tune into NFC East matchups even when one team is out of playoff contention.

The Philadelphia Eagles' 30-27 win over the Dallas Cowboys on NBC's ''Sunday Night Football'' matched the highest preliminary rating in the show's five years.

The Eagles came in tied for first in the division, but the ever-popular Cowboys were 4-8. The game still earned a 16.5 overnight rating and 25 share to equal last year's Giants-Cowboys matchup to open Dallas' new stadium.

The three highest-rated ''Sunday Night Football'' games are Cowboys NFC East matchups. Seven of the top eight games involve at least one team from the division.

Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program. Shares represent the percentage of all homes with TVs in use at the time. Overnight ratings measure the country's largest markets.