Dolly Parton’s halftime performance part of historic viewership in Cowboys-Commanders game

Only two other regular season games in the history of the NFL had more viewers than Thanksgiving’s 4:30 p.m. contest.

The Dallas Cowboys played host to their NFC East rivals the Washington Commanders on Thursday, and for the third-consecutive year, over 40 million tuned into the contest.

The clash averaged 41.438 million viewers during the 45-10 Dallas victory, while peaking at 44.265 million people tuned in.

Only last year’s Cowboys-Giants Thanksgiving game (42.1 million) and a 1990 match between the Giants and San Francisco 49ers (41.6 million) averaged more sets of eyeballs on the TV.

It also was the second-most watched television program this year, behind only the Super Bowl back in February.

But it wasn’t just football that people were tuned in for, as the game featured country music legend Dolly Parton performing at halftime.

Dressed in a bedazzled Cowboys cheerleader outfit, the 77-year-old performed at midfield and sang some of her hits.

The country music star performed “Jolene” and “9 to 5,” as well as her own rendition of “We Are the Champions” by Queen.

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It was the second time in less than a week that Parton was seen on a football field, as she joined NFL great Peyton Manning for Tennessee’s game against top-ranked Georgia on Saturday.

Dallas extended its home winning streak to 13 with the victory over Washington. 

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 331 yards and four touchdowns as the Dallas offense scored 25 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. 

The Cowboys are now 8-3 on the season, while Washington dropped to 4-8.

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