Report: Cowboys vs. Bucs TV Ratings for Season Opener Up 16% from Last Season

A marquee season-opening matchup featuring the defending Super Bowl champions and arguably the most popular team in the NFL turned out to be a huge draw in the ratings.

Per John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal, Thursday's game between the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers was up 16 percent in viewers from the 2020 opener and hit a five-year high in overnight ratings. 

Fans were treated to a thrilling contest for the first game of the 2021 season. The Bucs defeated the Cowboys 31-29 thanks to Ryan Succop's 36-yard field goal with two seconds remaining. 

Prior to Succop kicking the game-winner, Dak Prescott and Tom Brady put on a show. The Cowboys quarterback went 42-of-58 for 403 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in his first game back after suffering a compound fracture and dislocation of his ankle in Week 5 last season. 

Brady, who turned 44 years old on Aug. 3, threw for 379 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in the win. 

Thursday also marked the first NFL game with a full-capacity crowd since Super Bowl LIV between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 2, 2020. 

Last year's opener featured the Chiefs against the Houston Texans in a rematch from the AFC Divisional Round during the previous postseason. That game wasn't nearly as competitive as Cowboys-Bucs, with the Chiefs leading by as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter. 

Based on early ratings trends for college football's first full weekend and now the NFL, it's shaping up to be a very good fall for television networks.