Steelers-Giants down 21% from last year, Broncos-Titans game down 38%

written by: JOE LAURICH, guest writer

NFL ratings were down significantly across the board for the week one slate of games.

 Thursday night’s game between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs was down 16% in viewership from the Thursday night game last year, although it was up from the same game two years ago.

The Sunday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams, two major markets, was down 16.1% from last year’s season opener between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots. Both Monday Night Football games had a significant drop from last year.

The game in the early slot, the Pittsburgh Steelers against the New York Giants, was down 21% from the early Monday night game last year.  Given that New York is a huge market and the Steelers are one of the most popular teams in the NFL, the steep drop isn’t a great sign for the NFL. 

The late game, held in Denver for a matchup between the Broncos and Tennessee Titans, also struggled to get viewers as that game saw a steep 38% drop in viewership compared to last year’s game in the same time slot. 

While the ratings were down significantly, the NFL still had the five highest-rated TV shows last week. The Sunday afternoon matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which was also Tom Brady’s debut in Tampa Bay took the top spot.