Ravens' season opener against Chiefs is the most watched NFL kickoff game of all time

Take a pinch of Patrick Mahomes, a dash of Lamar Jackson, add some Taylor Swift sizzle and make for a fantastic finish.

What does this formula produce? The most-watched NFL kickoff game of all time.

The Kansas City Chiefs' thrilling 27-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night averaged 28.9 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, based on live and daily national fast-forward coverage from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics. The game exceeded the viewership of last year's season opener (27.5 million for Detroit Lions-Chiefs) by five percent.

According to NBC, the game peaked in the second quarter (between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. ET) with 33 million viewers. The Lightning delayed kickoff to 8:40 p.m. ET, which likely lowered viewership since the game didn't end until 11:55 p.m. ET.

NBC said it attracted 4.6 million viewers on its digital platforms, 65 percent more than last year's NFL Kickoff Game (2.8 million viewers).

The top three measured markets for the game (based on 44 available markets) were Kansas City, Baltimore and Denver.

Required reading

(Photo: Scott Winters / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)