Denver Broncos vs. Atlanta Falcons 2019: TV Channel, Betting Odds, Start Time For Hall Of Fame Game

The NFL’s sixth-month hiatus is finally set to come to an end Thursday night. The 2019 Hall of Fame Game between the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons marks the first exhibition contest of the year and the beginning of five straight months of football.

Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio will host the preseason game, which has a start time of 8 p.m. EDT. NBC will have the TV broadcast, though casual football fans might be hard-pressed to tune in for the entire game.

With Week 1 of the preseason still seven days away from kicking off, don’t expect to see many familiar names take the field. Most, if not all, of the regular starters for the Broncos and Falcons will be watching from the sidelines.

The Hall of Fame Game doesn’t usually produce very exciting football. It’s been six years since any team scored more than 20 points in the Hall of Fame Game. The Baltimore Ravens beat the Chicago Bears 17-16 in last year’s contest.

Denver is a 2.5-point favorite, according to the betting line at OddsShark. The over/under is 34.

The 2018 Hall of Fame Game did give the NFL its first glimpse of Lamar Jackson playing professional football. The rookie attempted 10 passes and eight rushes just a few months before replacing Joe Flacco as Baltimore’s starting quarterback.

Flacco starts his Broncos’ career Thursday. He won’t see the field, but Denver’s quarterback play might be the biggest reason to watch the game.

Denver is hoping second-round draft pick Drew Lock will be Flacco’s successor. The rookie should see his first NFL action Thursday as he competes to be the Broncos’ No.2 quarterback for the 2019 season.

Kevin Hogan will start the game at quarterback for Denver. He was a fifth-round draft pick in 2016 and hasn’t attempted a pass in a regular-season game since Oct. 15, 2017.

“I’m excited to be able to go out there,” Lock said Tuesday, via Broncos Wire. “Of course, when I go out there, I am going to be a little fired up.

“[I’ll] show people what I can do and definitely bring the juice that I’ve brought through college. . . . I’m going to prove to people that one day I should be starting those games.”

Matt Ryan won’t start at quarterback for the Falcons. It’s been confirmed that star wide receiver Julio Jones will also sit.