Are you ready for some football? The World Cup may be over, but here in America, football is just getting started.
While the official NFL season doesn't get underway until September, each year, the Hall of Fame preseason matchup in Canton, Ohio, marks the first preseason game of the year. This first sniff at the 2018 NFL season, played near the home of the NFL Hall of Fame, will be a rough exhibition of American football, but it reminds us all that real football is almost here.
Tonight, the Chicago Bears will face off against the Baltimore Ravens. After both teams failed to make the playoffs in 2017, the Bears and Ravens will use their extended preseason (both teams will play five games instead of four in the preseason) to improve and find key contributors who will help them get over the hump in 2018.
Preview
Unfortunately, the Hall of Fame Game is often a display of the worst football imaginable. Both teams will be unprepared to bring their best play and unwilling to risk injuries, meaning the top players on each team will unlikely take the field. This includes starting quarterbacks Joe Flacco (BAL) and Mitch Trubisky (CHI).
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has not yet released who will play how much, but most expect rookie and Heisman Trophy winner LaMar Jackson to make his NFL debut.
Neither team has much to win or much to lose other than trying to stay healthy and discover a few unlikely standouts who may be able to find their way into one of the final roster spots. Look for players you've never heard of to take the field and give it all they have knowing that the odds of staying in the NFL for more than a few preseason games are stacked against them.
Prediction
Oddsmakers expect a very close and low-scoring game. The Ravens are currently favored by 2.5 points and the over/under has been set at 34. Last year's matchup, which also lacked much star power, ended in a Dallas Cowboys victory over the Arizona Cardinals 20-18.
With new HOF inductee Brian Urlacher in attendance and with more to prove as a team with a new head coach, I'm looking for the Bears to pull out the victory, beating the Ravens 24-13. I'll take the Bears and the over.
How do you think this game will play out? Make your predictions below and have fun watching.
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