• by Wayne Friedman , November 20, 2007

Fox grabbed a rare Sunday night victory--all coming from a big NFL game run-over, the network's comedies, and because ABC put "Desperate Housewives" on the sidelines.

Fox had a 5.3 rating/13 share on the night, with ABC tying NBC for a distant second spot at a 4.2/10.

ABC spent the evening airing "The American Music Awards," which earned a healthy 4.8 rating/11 share among 18-49 viewers, slightly higher than a year ago. But those numbers were nowhere near the "Housewives" bigger 6 and 7 rating scores of recent weeks.

In the meantime, Fox was making hay with a big 6.3 rating from the NFL game from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with the Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins. Fox kept up the pace with a 5.3 from "The Simpsons," a 4.3 from "King of the Hill," a 5.4 with "Family Guy" and a 4.0 from "American Dad"--all above-average performances.

NBC's "Sunday Night Football" game with the New England Patriots' 56-10 crushing win over the Buffalo Bills averaged a 4.9/12 in 18-49--somewhat lower than its previous games, all due to viewers searching for other options early on because of the blowout.

CBS had a slight improvement on the night--because of ABC's taking a time out on Sunday with its unscripted and scripted programming. "Amazing Race" recorded a 3.8/9; "Cold Case" had a 3.2/7; and "Shark" grabbed a 2.9/7. For the night, CBS tallied a 3.3/8.

Univision came in fifth with a 1.2/3, and CW was sixth at 0.5/1.