If the length of a single toe was all that separated the Baltimore Ravens from a road win against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night, the gap between the ratings for this year’s NFL Kickoff Game and the analogous broadcast in 2023 was a little bit wider.
Including some 4.6 million streaming impressions, NBC’s coverage of Kansas City’s 27-20 win averaged 28.9 million viewers, up 5% vs. the year-ago Lions-Chiefs opener (27.5 million). The NBC/Peacock deliveries made this the biggest draw in the 23-year history of the league’s Thursday night opener; per Nielsen, the audience peaked at 33 million viewers during the second quarter.
The Kickoff Game now stands as the 17th-most-watched U.S. broadcast of 2024 and is currently the year’s 12th-biggest NFL telecast. Kansas City was the top performing market, as 80% of all TVs in use were tuned to NBC, while Baltimore boasted a 60% share.
NBC nearly stumbled into a little bonus football, as Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely seemed to have tied the game pending an extra-point in the closing seconds with a catch in the back of the end zone that capped off a 77-play drive. But Likely’s 10-yard reception was overturned after a replay indicated that a portion of his right foot had made contact with the end line.
If the revised touchdown call was a tough break for the Ravens, which came up short of the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game seven months ago, it also served as a reminder that Kansas City’s quest for a third straight Super Bowl title will not be a cakewalk. At times, the offense looked shaky, as Patrick Mahomes’ receivers failed to hang onto the ball at three crucial moments during the first 30 minutes of play. With 1:45 left in the half, the two-time MVP also was pressured into throwing an interception in the dead center of the midfield logo.
Mahomes’ pick set up a field goal for Baltimore, which cut Kansas City’s lead to 13-10. He finished the game with 20 of 28 passing for 291 yards. Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, meanwhile, dropped to 1-5 lifetime against Mahomes’ Chiefs; by way of comparison, the slimmed-down reigning MVP is 59-19 against the rest of the NFL as a starter.
Jackson notched his ninth game with at least 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing, but struggled in the red zone. Likely led the Ravens with nine receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown, while his counterpart on the Chiefs, Travis Kelce, wasn’t much of a factor. The 34-year-old put in more work during the commercial breaks, hauling in just three passes for 34 yards.
The new NFL season continues Friday night in Brazil, as NBC’s streaming sibling hosts the 47th meeting between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers.
