NEW YORK -- The NFL opener between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers was the second-highest rated season kickoff game.
The Packers' 42-34 victory drew a 16.0 and a 26 share Thursday night on NBC. That also was the second best prime-time rating in 13 years, since a 16.2/28 for a Dallas-Minnesota game in 1999.
The rating is the percentage of all homes with TVs, whether or not they are in use. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.
It was estimated that more than 27 million people watched Thursday night's game.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press