Cowboys' home opener draws historic TV ratings

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NEW YORK (AP) -- The Giants' last-second win over the Cowboys at the opening of Dallas' new stadium drew the highest preliminary television ratings for a prime-time game in 11 years.

New York's 33-31 victory Sunday on NBC earned a 16.5 overnight rating and 27 share. The network said Monday that's the best overnight rating for a prime-time matchup since a 17.4/27 for Broncos-Dolphins on Dec. 21, 1998.

NFL ratings are off to a strong start this season. Fox drew the largest audience for a Week 1 Sunday game since records started being kept in 1987.

Ratings represent the percentage of all households with televisions tuned into a program, and shares represent the percentage of all homes with TVs in use at the time. Overnight ratings measure the nation's largest markets.

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