Thursday's NFL kickoff brought a rough game for the New England Patriots and a competing claim from Donald Trump, who posted via Truth Social, his social media platform, that his Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas drew bigger viewership than the NBC broadcast. The actual ratings data had not been released when Trump posted, so the comparison was unverifiable.

The Patriots-Seahawks matchup was the first NFL game of the season on a Thursday night. Drake Maye had a difficult fourth quarter, and AJ Brown left the game with an injury. Sam Darnold entered and played only five snaps before sitting out the rest of the night. It was not the kind of debut the league tends to prefer.

Trump said the Dallas arena beat its own attendance records and that thousands of people who could not get inside watched on outdoor screens. He described the event as "far bigger, better, and more important than anyone thought possible" and said he would return to close out the convention that night.

The rest of Thursday's football

The second NFL game of the week begins Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. local time in Melbourne, Australia, where the Los Angeles Rams face the San Francisco 49ers. That game airs on Netflix. The streaming company's deal to carry the matchup comes as the league faces scrutiny from the FCC and the DOJ over its push into streaming.

In college football, No. 7 Miami entered Thursday as a 59.5-point favorite over Florida A&M University. A point spread is the gap oddsmakers set between two teams' expected final scores, and 59.5 ranks among the largest seen at the college level. The game airs on ACC Network.

Rodgers, Patrick, and a busy week for ESPN

Aaron Rodgers appeared on Cam Heyward's podcast Thursday and described the end of his relationship with Danica Patrick. Rodgers said Patrick had recently retired when they met and that the relationship reached a period without intimacy. When she asked whether they should buy a house in Malibu together, he said no. Counseling followed, and COVID lockdowns then placed both of them at home together.

ESPN reporter Taylor McGregor had a notable week. She handled a power outage during a Monday broadcast in Tallahassee, then disputed a parking attendant during a radio interview Thursday.

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