America, are you ready for some football? Of course, you are.
After the interminable gap between the Super Bowl and live action, football returns Thursday as the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons meet in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, OH.
The game kicks off the NFL’s 100th season.
This marks the fourth appearance by each club in the annual preseason classic. Both teams own 1-2 records in the Hall of Fame Game.
The Broncos have a new head coach, Vic Fangio, formerly of the Chicago Bears. They also have Joe Flacco from the Baltimore Ravens. The Super Bowl-winning quarterback won’t play so the play-calling duties go to Kevin Hogan and Drew Lock, the second-round pick from Missouri.
The debut won’t quite be as sweet as Fangio hoped. Per Adam Schefter:
Dan Quinn and his Falcons are looking to rebound from a couple dull seasons after the Super Bowl LI collapse against the New England Patriots. Quinn has taken over the defensive coordinator role, again.
The game will be broadcast by NBC, Details below:
Kickoff time: 8 p.m. ET
Date: Aug. 1
TV: NBC
Stream: NBCsports.com and nfl.com/gamepass
Of course, there is a betting line. The Broncos are a 3-point favorite with the over/under at 34 points.
Oddshark.com offers the following gambling info:
-
- Since 1995, the favorite has a record of 16-6 SU but 11-8-3 ATS. More recently, the faves have gone 8-2 SU and 6-3-1 ATS over the last 10 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in six of the last 10 Hall of Fame Games, dating back to 2007, with an average combined score of 32.4.
