There was plenty of football news over the last half-year, but people are actually going to hit each other on Thursday night, and that is very exciting. It’s also a glimpse into a possibly normal season this year (fingers crossed) as all of the preseason, including the Hall of Fame Game, was canceled in 2020.
Our six long months of having no football is over.
Pittsburgh Steelers (-1.5) vs. Dallas Cowboys
It’s one of the most classic matchups in the NFL, making it extra fitting for the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, where 19 Cowboys and 24 Steelers are currently enshrined. Each team will be adding a player to the tally when the 2021 class is enshrined on Sunday. Wide receiver Drew Pearson is in for the Dallas Cowboys, and guard Alan Faneca goes in for Pittsburgh.
As for the game on the field, the much-anticipated return of Dak Prescott will have to wait. He’s had a shoulder setback in training camp, and he will not play on Thursday. That means that Garrett Gilbert will likely start, and he’s backed up by Ben DiNucci and Cooper Rush. We also aren’t going to see Amari Cooper on a football field for at least two more weeks.
The biggest task for the Pittsburgh Steelers is figuring out their offensive line. Ben Roethlisberger won’t play, but Pittsburgh is probably going to ride with their first-string offensive line for a number of series. With so many new faces on the line, they need to develop chemistry.
Gone are offensive line mainstays David DeCastro, Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey, Marcus Gilbert, and Alejandro Villanueva. In are Trae Turner, Chukwuma Okorafor, Kendrick Green, Kevin Dotson, and Zach Banner.
Our six long months of having no football is over, as the NFL’s Hall of Fame Game features the Dallas Cowboys against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Betting Picks – Steelers (-1.5), Over 33
Never invest a lot of money in a preseason game because anything can happen. But it’s the first game back, and we’re all itching to make an NFL bet.
The Steelers will probably give rookie running back Najee Harris a decent amount of work, and he should have a good game. Pittsburgh also has a significantly better defense than Dallas, and that should give the Cowboys backup quarterbacks trouble. Go with the Steelers to cover.
It will be a low-scoring game, so 33 for a totals line isn’t crazy low. But with a limited time to make the team, someone will either make a big play late or make a big mistake that ends up sending the number over 33.
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