The Atlanta Falcon's thrilling 26-21 victory over the Balitmore Ravens on NFL Network was watched by an average of 5.0 million viewers (not including over-the-air stations in Baltimore and Atlanta) — topping last year's opening night game (Bears-49ers) by 28 percent and ranking as the most-watched season opener in the five seasons of Thursday Night Football.
Ravens-Falcons was the night's most-watched sporting event, topping Celtics-Heat (4.2 million viewers) and Lakers-Nuggets (2.9 million viewers) on TNT, and Pittsburgh-Connecticut college football on ESPN (1.8 million viewers).
With the win, the Falcons improved to an NFL-best 7-2 on the season and are now 2-1 under head coach Mike Smith in prime-time games. After recording two wins in just five days, the Falcons will next travel to St. Louis to battle the Rams (4-4) on Nov. 21 at 4:05 p.m. ET on FOX.
