This week the NFL opened the 2010 football season with a Hall of Fame Game in which the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Cincinnati Bengals. The game had the highest TV ratings for a preseason NFL game in six years and beat the Red Sox-Yankees with an exploding audience.

The Hall of Fame Game got a 7.6 overnight rating, which represents the percentage of homes with televisions tuned into the game, and a 13 share, which represents the percentage of all homes with televisions in use at the time. The previous best performance by a preseason game is held by a football game between Tennessee and Dallas, which was played on 30 August, 2004 and drew 8.2/13.

The rating obtained by this year’s game represents a 31% increase compared to last year’s Hall of Fame Game between Buffalo and Tennessee. However, it does not reach the ratings of the Super Bowl XLIV, which meant a record for the National Football League concerning TV ratings, with 153.4 million viewers and a 45.0 rating.

The Hall of Fame Game saw Terrell Owens facing his former NFL team and a Cincinnati that is about to start its most publicized season. For Dallas, on the other hand, this NFL season can only end with a Super Bowl at home. In general, it was a great occasion for football fans to see some football action for the first time in the season.