Packers vs. Bears is Highest-Rated NFL Kickoff Game in 3 Years

The Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears kicked off the 2019 season on Thursday night and it was the Packers that came away with a 10-3 win. Most fans may not have liked the low score, but there were a number of fans who watched the first game of the league's 100th season. In a report by The Wrap, the Packers-Bears matchup posted a "15.3 rating/28 share in the 56 metered markets." According to Nielsen, those are the best overnight ratings in three seasons.

Last year, the Atlanta Falcons took on the Philadelphia Eagles to kick off the year and that game posted a "13.4 rating/25 share in the 56 metered markets." In 2017, The Kansas City Chiefs faced the New England Patriots and it was down 12 percent. As for the cities who had the most viewers, Milwaukee was No. 1 followed by Chicago, Minneapolis, New Orleans and Kansas City.

The Packers and Bears have faced each other 199 times with the first meeting dating back to 1921. And when you talk about a rivalry, this is good a rivalry as you will find in any sport because the Packers have the overall lead just by two games (97-94-6). The Packers and Bears met in the playoffs only twice and both teams each earned a victory. And what's interesting about both games is they winner went on to play in the championship game and they ending up winning that contest as well.

Proof of the rivalry being real is what happened after the game last night as cornerback Tramon Williams had some very interesting things to say about Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.

"We wanted to make Mitch play quarterback," Williams said. "We knew they had a lot of weapons, we knew they were dangerous, we knew all of those things. But we knew if we could make Mitch play quarterback, that we'd have a chance."

Along with Packers and Bears players taking shots at each other on and off the field, there was an incident during the game that led to it going viral. In the second quarter, a hot mic on the NBC broadcast caught one guy saying an NSFW statement. It was so loud and clear that play-by-play announcer Al Michaels was laughing.

The next time the Packers and Bears play against each other will be on Dec. 15.