NEW YORK — An estimated 19.3 million fans turned on NBC to watch the NFL’s season kickoff between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans, or 13 percent fewer viewers than 2019’s opening game.

The Nielsen company said last year’s matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears was seen by 22.2 million people.

NBC touted it as the “most-watched sporting event since the Super Bowl.” That’s true, although because of COVID-19, there were several months without any live sports on TV. Thursday represented the first day that every major professional sport had games on the same day.