Caleb Wilfinger
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As the calendar turns to August, we start to check off important dates on our way to the official return of football. And while we’ve still got 35 more days until the Baltimore Ravens take on the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to open the season, the NFL preseason kicks off on Thursday night with the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. This year’s installment pits the Houston Texans against the Chicago Bears. Even though the pregame focus will be on the enshrinement of Devin Hester, Andre Johnson and Julius Peppers, we should still be in for a fun contest once the action gets underway on the field. As the countdown to the start of the NFL regular season rolls on, here are the betting lines, odds and my best bet for the Hall of Fame Game.
2024 NFL Hall of Fame Game betting lines and odds
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Point Spread: Texans -1.5, Bears +1.5
Total Points Over/Under: 31.5 points
Money Line Odds: Texans -130, Bears +105
Houston Texans -1.5 over Chicago Bears (-110)
Preseason football is typically a tough thing to predict since it is pretty much meaningless aside from players on the fringes of the roster fighting for spots on the team. At the end of the day, everyone is hoping to stay healthy and brush off the rust from a long offseason. Despite the relative difficulty in handicapping that this presents, I think Houston holds a clear edge on offense in this spot.
For starters, it’s advantageous that Houston has 2 competent backup quarterbacks at its disposal to use in this game. Davis Mills has real NFL starting experience and even if he’s only on the field for the first half, Case Keenum is more than capable of running an offense for a couple of quarters as the 3rd string quarterback. Additionally, Houston has more depth in terms of skill position talent for the backups, including wideout John Metchie III, who should have a chance to shine without worrying about his target share behind Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins and Tank Dell. The very low total of 31.5 suggests that there shouldn’t be a ton of scoring in this game as well, which benefits a Houston team that should be able to control the clock and run effective offense with its serviceable QBs. Don’t expect a spectacular game by any means, but I’ll still take the Texans to get the job done to get the preseason underway.
