Ricky Dimon
Football is back, ladies and gentlemen.
Okay, we still have a while to go before the 2025 NFL season kicks off. But after months of having no pigskin whatsoever to enjoy, we’ll take whatever we can get – and what we are getting on Thursday night is the Hall of Fame Game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions.
It is true that this week in Canton, Ohio isn’t really about Thursday’s game. It’s more about the HOF induction of Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Antonio Gates and Sterling Sharpe. Still, the on-field festivities should not be entirely overlooked. It should be a fun showdown between two franchises that most definitely have playoff aspirations this year.
With the contest set for 8:00 pm ET on NBC, it’s time to break down the betting lines and make my best bet for the Hall of Fame Game.
2025 NFL Hall of Fame Game betting lines and odds
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Point Spread: Chargers +1.5, Lions -1.5
Total Points Over/Under: 32.5 points
Money Line Odds: Chargers +100, Lions -120
2025 NFL Hall of Fame Game best bet: Under 32.5 (-105)
Preseason competition on the gridiron is obviously difficult to handicap since it is pretty much meaningless aside from players on the fringes of rosters fighting for spots. The only real goal – or at least the most important one – is to avoid getting injured. Shaking off some rust from the offseason is part of the plan, too, but there is a lot of time to do that throughout the rest of the preseason. There won’t be any real urgency to do anything special so early. After all, this doesn’t even count as preseason Week 1. Heck, it’s not even August yet!
All of that being said, there may be some value to be found on the betting market. My thought is that Under 32.5 is the best play. Don’t be fooled by such a low number relative to regular-season games; 32.5 is nothing out of the ordinary for the preseason and several recent HOF games have kicked off with lower totals than this one. Six out of the last 12 Hall of Fame games have stayed under 32.5. Not one has reached the 40-point mark since 2013. In head coach Jim Harbaugh’s first 2 preseason outings with the Chargers in 2024, they lost 16-3 and 13-9. Lions head coach Dan Campbell watched his team drop its 2024 preseason opener 14-3. We obviously aren’t going to see Justin Herbert and Jared Goff on Thursday. Instead, DJ Uiagalelei could get a lot of work for Los Angeles. Just think about how bad Uiagalelei was in college; now imagine going up against NFL defenses. It’s a scary thought! I’m counting on an ugly, sloppy, low-scoring slog.
