To celebrate the start of the preseason, the 2025 NFL Hall of Fame odds are on the board for the first matchup of the year! In the exhibition opener, the Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions kick off at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Although starters won’t play much, bettors can take advantage of solid value in the Chargers and Lions matchup. Let’s explore the latest betting odds and analyze both teams, before revealing my NFL Hall of Game predictions!
NFL HOF Game 2025 Betting Odds: Chargers vs Lions
The following NFL Hall of Game odds are courtesy of Bovada:
| TEAM | MONEYLINE | SPREAD | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| LA Chargers | EVEN | +1 (-110) | Over 33 (-110) |
| Detroit Lions | -120 | -1 (-110) | Under 33 (-110) |
The Detroit Lions (-120) are very slight favorites to win the NFL Hall of Fame Game over the Los Angeles Chargers. The best NFL betting sites have the Lions listed as a -120 favorite on the moneyline, or a 54.5% implied probability.
They are only a one-point favorite on the point spread, which suggests there isn’t much separation between the Chargers and Lions on the football field. It’s essentially a coin-flip game that is expected to be a low-scoring contest in Canton, OH.
At 33 points on the over/under, points are projected to come at a premium in a sloppy effort for the offenses. That’s typically the case for preseason games, but we’ll see what the Lions and Chargers can come up with on Thursday night. Let’s dive into the team analysis before making our 2025 NFL Hall of Fame Game picks!
You can find up-to-date NFL HOF odds at Bovada by navigating to All Sports > Football > NFL Preseason.
Los Angeles Chargers Analysis
Chargers’ head coach Jim Harbaugh heads into his second season with high expectations in Los Angeles. In only one campaign, Harbaugh managed to reinvent the culture around the organization and put the Chargers back in contention.
QB Justin Herbert turns under center for his sixth season in the NFL. However, I don’t expect to see Herbert take a snap in the Hall of Fame Game. He doesn’t need an extra preseason game to get ready for the regular season.
That leaves Harbaugh with a rotation of Taylor Heinicke, Trey Lance, and DJ Uiagalelei under center.
Taylor Heinicke led a nine-play, 89-yard TD drive to secure the @Commanders a Week 8 win! pic.twitter.com/xjEkacQDJU
— NFL (@NFL) October 31, 2022
Heinicke is one of the better backups in the NFL, so I like what the Chargers have here with him. He has passed for 6,663 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 28 interceptions in seven years of regular-season experience! That isn’t easy to find for a backup in the league. Expect Heinicke to put a solid stat line together.
Additionally, while Lance has failed to live up to expectations, he should find success against a third-team Detroit defense.
The San Francisco 49ers selected Lance with the third overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s appeared in just 12 regular-season games, with 266 yards passing, 0 touchdowns, and an interception.
I have no faith in Lance making a career in the NFL as a starter, but he should be able to produce some positive results against backups in the second half. There will also be some motivation for Lance to play well here. He’s running out of chances and must make a good impression.
Uiagalelei inspires no confidence after signing as an undrafted free agent, so if he is in the final minutes of the final quarter, that’s a big advantage for the Lions.
PICKED! Deane Leonard with the @Chargers interception⚡️
📺: #LACvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/JM3cbrPj1h— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2025
Harbaugh is a coach who stresses team defense from the trenches to the secondary. That’s precisely what happened in his first season, as the Chargers led the NFL defensive stats, with 17.7 points allowed per game. This is a deep unit that should make plays in all four quarters against the Lions!
Detroit Lions Analysis
The odds for the NFL Hall of Fame Game afford Dan Campbell’s club a small edge over the Chargers. However, is the wrong team favored in Canton? The Lions are coming off another strong season under Campbell’s guidance.
Regarded as one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl throughout the season, the Lions were upset by the Washington Commanders in the divisional round. Due to a tough schedule in 2025-26, they aren’t as highly favored. Losing center Frank Ragnow is a difficult loss as well.
QB Jared Goff will take his seat on the bench and watch this one from the sidelines. The Lions have a quarterback battle in training camp between Hendon Hooker and Kyle Allen. There are no guarantees for Hooker, who was drafted in the third round out of Tennessee in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Hooker has been the victim of injuries over the last two years, so his status as a legitimate backup remains in limbo. Reports out of training camp in Allen Park have Hooker playing composed and delivering the best football of his career.
Coach Campbell on Hendon Hooker pic.twitter.com/RJYpJ7jyGV
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) July 21, 2025
Confidence appeared to be problematic for Hooker in the past, but he appears to have a different perspective now. He might be the most motivated player in this game, which bodes extremely well for your NFL Hall of Fame Game betting picks. Challenging Hooker for the backup job is the 29-year-old journeyman Allen.
Allen is a strong No. 3 option for the Lions in this matchup. I’ll take Allen over Lance and Uiagalelei on Thursday night. The Texas A&M product enters with 4,753 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions in seven years in the NFL. He’s a competent backup that can push Hooker out of the QB2 role with a productive preseason.
Like Harbaugh, coach Campbell demands excellence and stresses wrapping up ball carriers on defense. Taking care of the fundamentals is important to both coaches. I don’t suspect that defense will be a problem for the Lions against the Chargers’ vanilla offense in the preseason.
2025 NFL Hall of Fame Game Predictions and Betting Pick
The NFL Hall of Fame Game betting odds for Thursday night’s matchup point to a competitive game that is likely to go down to the wire. I expect the final score to play close to the one-point spread, so a field goal could be the difference.
In the preseason, I generally bet on teams that have heated quarterback battles ongoing in training camp. That lines up with what is happening in Allen Park, MI. Hooker and Allen are in a tight competition to win the rights to back up Goff. Allen is the most likely quarterback to get the playing duties in the 4th quarter.
That affords the Lions a pretty sizable advantage over the Chargers in Canton. He is the much more established quarterback and is definitely the stronger option over Lance and Uiagalelei.
That is likely where the game will be won and lost, with my confidence much higher in Allen. Heinicke should have a solid game, but he won’t be playing in crunch time of a close matchup when it matters the most.
The defenses are a wash, so I see Hooker and Allen as the difference in a competitive contest. With this in mind, I recommend the Lions to cover for your 2025 NFL HOF Game picks!
Where to Bet on the HOF Game?
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