Football is back! Kind of. After a long, arduous offseason the exhibition season gets underway when the NFL presents the Hall of Fame Game between the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio on Thursday.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. EST and the game will be broadcast on NBC.
Even though this is preseason, this is no time to sit on your wallet. The oddsmakers at BetDSI Sportsbook have concluded there is a favorite in this contest and have delivered a point spread and score total to prove it. Take a look:
Chicago Bears vs Baltimore Ravens (-1.5, O/U 32)
Chicago Bears
New head coach Matt Nagy was brought in from the Kansas City Chiefs to fix a lackluster Bears attack and make sure that last year’s first round pick, Mitchell Trubisky, would have every opportunity to develop into a legit NFL starting quarterback. How much of that opportunity will Nagy take advantage of in the Hall of Fame Game?
Frankly, established teams rarely play starters past the opening series in this game and sometimes they don’t even do that. But Chicago is in the precarious position of being a team in desperate need of some good news.
If this were the regular season, Trubisky would line up with Jordan Howard in the backfield, Dion Sims at tight end and Allen Robinson, Kevin White and Taylor Gabriel at wideout. We might see them for one series, maybe two. White may get a bit more action than some of the other regulars as he’s only played in five games since the Bears drafted him in 2015 and could use more reps.
If you want to see Roquan Smith suit up for Chicago, you’ll have to wait at least another week as he’s holding out for a better contract.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens are more likely to use this game as an opportunity to purely start backups and guys on the roster bubble. For that reason alone, this could be a pretty exciting game to watch.
While Joe Flacco is Baltimore’s starter at quarterback for this season, the team drafted Lamar Jackson out of Louisville with the final pick of the first round in April’s draft. He should see plenty of time on the field, along with rookie tight end and fellow first rounder Hayden Hurst. This game will also give wide receiver Breshad Perriman a chance to put something positive on tape in order to keep a job in the NFL as he’s currently behind Michael Crabtree, Willie Snead and John Brown on the wide receiver depth chart.
NFL Hall of Fame Game Pick:
Jackson will likely get a lot of reps in this game, playing against plenty of Bears defenders that likely won’t make the roster. Add in Nagy’s desire to at least show that his starting unit is competent, that’s a recipe for an entertaining game. I like the Ravens at -1.5 and I like the over.
Ravens 27, Bears 13
For more great NFL Preseason betting insights, check out our NFL betting guides:
2018 NFL Hall of Fame Game Betting Strategies and Odds
