The Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday set a new record for the most-watched NFL kickoff game in history.
The 2024 NFL season opener saw 28.9 million viewers combined on NBC and streaming service Peacock. The viewership peaked in the second quarter when around 33 million people tuned in to watch the rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game.
The previous record was held by the 2015 matchup between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers, which drew 27.6 million viewers on NBC. The streaming data became a part of the viewership figures a year later.
The viewing numbers for the clash between the Chiefs and Ravens are not a surprise. It was a contest between reigning Super Bowl champions, the Chiefs, and one of the best teams in the NFL, the Ravens, while featuring two of the best quarterbacks in the game, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson.
The game didn’t disappoint, providing an exciting affair, especially in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs went up by 10 points on rookie Xavier Worthy’s second touchdown of the game before the Ravens cut the deficit to seven via Justin Tucker’s 32-yard field goal.
Baltimore ended up getting the ball back with less than two minutes left, with Jackson orchestrating a 77-yard drive that almost ended with a touchdown. As the clock expired, Jackson found wideout Isaiah Likely in the endzone, but Likely just barely stepped on the line, and the pass was deemed incomplete.
