Chiefs' thrilling win over Ravens is most-watched season opener in NFL history

The 2024 NFL season opener between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens may have got off to a late start due to a lightning delay, but that didn't effect viewership.

An average 28.9 million viewers tuned into NBC and Peacock to watch the Chiefs narrowly defeat the Ravens 27-20 on Thursday, the network announced on Friday, to become the most-watched regular-season opener in NFL history. In comparison, the 2023 season opener between the Chiefs and Detroit Lions attracted an average 27.5 million viewers.

The 2024 NFL regular-season kickoff broadcast peaked at 33 million viewers during the second quarter around 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET, but the drama came late in the matchup.

With Baltimore trailing by a touchdown with seconds left on the clock, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson connected with tight end Isaiah Likely in the back of the end zone for what appeared to be a touchdown. Ravens coach John Harbaugh was holding up two fingers, signaling a two-point conversion attempt for the win, but replay review showed Likely's toe narrowly landed out of bounds.

“He’s got to wear white cleats next time, that’s my advice to (Likely)," Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes joked after the win.

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Thursday's game between Kansas City and Baltimore marked a rematch of the 2023 AFC championship game, where the Chiefs defeated the Ravens 17-10 en route to their second consecutive Super Bowl title.

Lightning and thunderstorms pushed kickoff back to 8:40 p.m. ET.