NFL Hall Of Fame Game 2018: Start Time, TV Channel, Betting Odds For Bears vs. Ravens

The NFL returns Thursday night with the first preseason game of 2018. The Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears will meet in the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, though the contest might not exactly feature high-quality football.

Set to play in the only exhibition game in the first week of August, Baltimore and Chicago both have one extra game on their respective preseason schedules. That means many of the top players won’t even participate in the first NFL game in six months.

It would be surprising to see either Joe Flacco or Mitchell Trubisky take the field as both teams try to keep their starting quarterbacks healthy for the regular season.

“We have that set,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh told reporters, regarding the team’s quarterback plans for Thursday. “I never really talk about that. We just go do it. But we have the quarterback rotation set, and then we’ll organize the rest of it ... There’ll be some guys who won’t play in that game, probably you might guess the guys who haven’t practiced as much that first week.”

Robert Griffin III could see a lot of time under center for Baltimore. The former Heisman Trophy winner is back in the NFL for the first time since 2016 and trying to earn a spot on the Ravens’ roster. Lamar Jackson, whom Baltimore drafted with the last pick of the first round, is sure to make the team and could make his NFL debut Thursday.

Even though it’s not certain what players will suit up for the Ravens or Bears, it’s still an NFL game, and that means you can bet on it. The betting line favors Baltimore slightly, and oddsmakers don’t expect a ton of points to be scored.

That makes sense, considering how the last few Hall of Fame Games have gone. The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Arizona Cardinals 20-18 in the first exhibition contest of 2017. The 2013 New Orleans Saints are the only team in the last eight years to score more than 20 points in the game. Only one Hall of Fame Game since 2009 has been decided by double-digits.

Baltimore has gone undefeated in each of their last two preseasons. They’ve even covered the spread in each of their last eight exhibition games.

The 2018 Hall of Fame Game starts at 8 p.m. EDT on NBC and NBC Sports Live.