FRISCO, Texas -- The Cowboys have long been one of the most visible teams in sports – and they'll certainly be visible in the final month of this season.
At halftime of Sunday night's game between Carolina and Seattle, NBC announced it will be flexing the Dec. 18 meeting between Dallas and Tampa Bay into the night slot, replacing the matchup of Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
That means three of the Cowboys' final four regular season games will be seen by a national audience. They're already slated for Sunday Night Football next weekend, as they'll travel to New York to face the Giants in primetime. Their Week 16 matchup against Detroit is also slated for Monday Night Football.
Adding the Tampa game to the equation, the Cowboys are now slated to play five nationally televised games in a row – dating back to the Thanksgiving Day game against Washington. They're also now set to play six night games – which means their noon kickoff against Philadelphia in Week 17 can no longer be flexed.
None of this is surprising, given the type of ratings the Cowboys draw – especially in the middle of an 11-game winning streak. The Cowboys' win against the Redskins on Thanksgiving was the highest-rated regular season game in Fox history. Their games against Pittsburgh and Green Bay were also among the highest-rated games of the season.
It also doesn't hurt that the Buccaneers are on a streak of their own, winning their last four games – including victories against playoff contenders Kansas City and Seattle.
That makes for must-see TV, considering Tampa Bay has a chance to grab a playoff berth, while Dallas holds the opportunity to secure homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.
Now, it'll be easy-to-see TV for viewers across the country.
[embeddedad0]
