The Detroit Lions are the best team in the NFC in 2024. Entering Week 12, the Lions are 9-1, own the best point differential in the league and have become a major draw around the country. The Dallas Cowboys are 3-7, have the third-worst point differential and haven’t been fun to watch outside of wideout CeeDee Lamb being temporarily blinded by a concentrated sunbeam as he tried to catch a pass inside their indoor stadium. Oh yeah, the Lions beat the Cowboys so soundly (47-6) that some affiliates switched off that Week 6 game in the third quarter.
Those facts seem to be lost on FOX, based on the broadcast maps (courtesy 506 Sports) that show how little of the country will get to watch the Lions play the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Unless you live in Michigan, Indiana, western Ohio or (weirdly) Tampa, you don’t get the Lions.
Instead, the Cowboys and Washington Commanders are your early broadcast game on the local FOX affiliate. That’s the game FOX chose to anoint as worthy of its top-billed announcing crew of Joe Davis and Greg Olsen, and it will go out to nearly all of the country.
The markets in green get the Lions-Colts, with Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma on the call. Blue areas are what should be a good NFC North matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. The red areas–nearly all of the top media markets–get the quick-fading Cowboys, who are 10.5-point road underdogs against the 7-4 Commanders.
To be fair, Washington is a fun, emerging team with a bright young QB in Jayden Daniels. But we’re going to guess the FOX execs making the decision to force-feed terrible Cowboys football on the masses didn’t pick that game so folks could watch Washington…