NFL Preseason Football 2016: Hall of Fame Game Tonight—Betting Odds, Predictions, & Preview [Video]

The 2016 NFL preseason is here and it kicks off Sunday night for the Hall of Fame Game pitting the Green Bay Packers against the Indianapolis Colts. The game takes place at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, in Canton, Ohio, and it airs on ESPN at 8 p.m. EST. For many, preseason NFL football is not as exciting as the regular season, but for diehard fans and sports betters it still provides the action they are looking for.

The current betting odds for the NFL Hall of Fame Game has the Colts favored by -3 and the over/under is at 34 points. The NFL Hall of Fame Game takes place in Ohio so the home-field advantage is thrown out the window for this one. Many football analysts are going into far too much detail to analyze this matchup. They mention stats on the overall record of a team for preseason football, against-the-spread analysis for the history of a team and the Hall of Fame preseason game as well as the records of the coaches in preseason football, all of which don’t mean squat. When looking at this matchup, we need to keep it simple by looking at last season, who is playing Sunday night, and who isn’t going to be on the field.

About the Colts

The Colts finished second in the AFC South last year with a record of 8-8, and they have a solid team this year. Quarterback Andrew Luck is the highest paid player in NFL history with a contract for $140 million over the next six seasons. Luck’s shoulder injury last year prevented the NFL superstar from putting up his usual numbers. In fact, Andrew Luck had a record-low season last year. Look for Luck to play for a series or two in this game to knock the cobwebs off before backup quarterback and former Green Bay Packer Scott Tolzien takes over.

Head coach Chuck Pagano said he would have all of his starters play at some point, but for how long is not certain. This of course is what we expect during NFL preseason football. Ryan Kelly is the rookie center and is expected to start. Fans will also see cornerback Patrick Robinson, who made a name for himself playing for both the Saints and the Chargers. The Colts now look forward to this playmaker debuting for their team Sunday night.

About the Packers

The Green Bay Packers finished second in the NFC North last season with a record of 10-6 and are considered Super Bowl contenders. They are favored to win the NFC North this season with Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson both being healthy, which is good news for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. That’s great news come regular season, but don’t expect to see too much of them come Sunday night. What fans can expect is to see a whole lot of rookies play for a whole lot of clock time.

Backup quarterback Joe Callahan is scheduled to start for the Packers and will most likely play the majority of the game. Fellow backup quarterback Brett Hundley has been sidelined with an ankle injury. Aaron Rodgers didn’t practice on Thursday and has made it clear that he wants no part of this game. This should give Callahan plenty of practice time for this preseason NFL game. The second and third team defense will be played a bunch as Green Bay is searching for a replacement for defensive tackle BJ Raji who retired last season.

NFL 2016 Hall of Fame Preseason Game Prediction

The Colts have some experienced players on the field, while the Packers are debuting some rookies that have never played an NFL game before. The Colts are only giving up three points here so a bet on them would make sense. Betting on preseason games for the NFL is always tricky and the 2016 season is no different; however, all the data points to the Colts winning the Hall of Fame Game come Sunday night.

[Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images]