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The NFL’s decision to move its first game of the regular season up a day to Wednesday did not seem to pay off in terms of television ratings.
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Wednesday’s Week 1 Super Bowl rematch between the defending-champion Seattle Seahawks and visiting New England Patriots drew 25.1 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.
The television ratings were down 11% from last year’s opening game between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, which was played on a Thursday night and delayed over an hour due to inclement weather. That Cowboys-Eagles game was the least-viewed opening game of an NFL season since 2022.
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The viewership numbers in the 18-49 age range were strong. This year’s Patriots-Seahawks game was the most-viewed in that age group for an NFL opener since 2021, according to NBC.
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This story was originally published September 14, 2026 at 11:54 AM.