Thursday night featured a matchup between the reigning Super Bowl champions and arguably the most popular team in America for the first game of the NFL season.
Unsurprisingly, this Buccaneers-Cowboys combination raked in some massive TV ratings.
According to John Ourand of Sports Business Journal, last night’s Thursday Night Football broadcast on NBC hit a five-year high in overnight ratings. A 15.9 score, not even including at-home viewing, was up 16-percent from last year’s opening game.
The broadcast averaged about 22 million viewers, per TVLine.com.
NFL fans from around the league took to Twitter to react to these massive ratings.
Football is the TV king. Largest opening game audience since 2015. https://t.co/GMN7qvMUF1
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) September 10, 2021
Dallas Cowboys vs the best QB ever yields good results. https://t.co/UReeOEt0NY
— Steve Benko (@SteveBenko) September 10, 2021
Looks like all the I’m boycotting the NFL fans were back. https://t.co/x9o23M12bt
— TreyLanceTracker (@BSaas25) September 10, 2021
Football is BACK https://t.co/8mMxhhzwk3
— Brandon Wicks (@Swosubulldog4) September 10, 2021
Football is impervious to every excuse that NBA fans have used to explain their declining viewership. https://t.co/JvtJEFIt58
— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) September 10, 2021
Wow, it’s almost as if the NFL is the ruler of all sports in America.
Once we get the final numbers, it’s shouldn’t be a shock that having a game involving the Cowboys, mix in Tom Brady and a competitive game, and you get a highly rated event. NFL is the best. https://t.co/tyhoxNp1mx
— Owen (@Alakazam_428) September 10, 2021
This matchup alone likely drew in a large portion of the viewers, but the game itself kept them around.
The Buccaneers claimed a closely-contested 31-29 victory over the Cowboys on a game-winning field goal. With non-stop offensive action throughout the game, Tom Brady and Dak Prescott’s teams combined for 60 points and 882 total yards.
If these rating are any indication of the rest of this NFL year, the league is in for some big numbers through the remainder of Week 1.
The post NFL World Reacts To Massive Cowboys vs. Buccaneers Ratings appeared first on The Spun.