The Patriots’ [season-opening, 13-10 loss](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/12/sports/mike-vrabel-patriots-starters/) to the Seahawks last Wednesday night averaged 25.1 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, per Nielsen Big Data.
It’s the fourth consecutive season that the network’s NFL Kickoff Game launching the regular season has cleared 25 million viewers.
NBC has been the broadcast home for the NFL opener for the last 21 years, but this was just the second on a Wednesday (Cowboys-Giants, 2012).
The rematch of Super Bowl LX peaked with 27.4 million viewers from 9-9:15 p.m., during the second quarter.
Providence (23.8 rating/58 share) and Boston (23.1/61) were the top two metered markets. Seattle was third (22.0/64), followed by Buffalo (18.4/42) and Pittsburgh (15.2/37).
Telemundo’s Spanish-language broadcast averaged an additional 423,000 viewers.
Chad Finn can be reached at [chad.finn@globe.com](mailto:chad.finn@globe.com).