The Caleb Williams era in Chicago will begin Thursday when the Bears kick off the NFL preseason against the Houston Texans in the 2024 NFL Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Selected with the first overall pick in the 2024 Draft, Williams could make his NFL debut as Chicago appears in the Hall of Fame Game for the sixth overall time and first since it lost to Baltimore in 2018. The Bears face a Houston team that won its seventh AFC South title last year after recording only three victories the previous season.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET. Chicago is a 2-point favorite in the latest Bears vs. Texans odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 32.5. Before making any Texans vs. Bears picks or 2024 NFL Hall of Fame Game predictions, you need to see what SportsLine NFL expert Larry Hartstein has to say.
A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources with an analytical approach he honed working for Pro Football Focus. He tied for 52nd place (out of 1,598 entries) in the 2022 Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, going 53-34-3 against the spread. Hartstein’s weekly Vegas contest selections form the basis of his NFL best bets column, which is 79-48-2 (62.2%, +25.95 units) since its inception in 2022.
More importantly, Hartstein has a read on the pulse of the Texans. He is 42-27-4 (+1229) on his last 73 against-the-spread NFL picks in games involving Houston. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, Hartstein has locked in on Bears vs. Texans from every angle and released a confident against-the-spread pick for the NFL Hall of Fame Game 2024. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are several NFL odds and trends for Texans vs. Bears:
- Texans vs. Bears spread: Chicago -2
- Texans vs. Bears over/under: 32.5 points
- Texans vs. Bears money line: Chicago -130, Houston +110
- CHI: Bears are 4-1 all-time in the Hall of Fame Game
- HOU: Texans lost their only previous appearance in the Hall of Fame Game (2002)
- Texans vs. Bears picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why the Bears can cover
Regardless of whether he plays on Thursday, Williams enters the NFL with huge expectations following an impressive collegiate career, which began in 2021 at Oklahoma. He transferred to USC after just one season with the Sooners and immediately set program records as he threw for 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns en route to winning the Heisman Trophy. Williams also ran for 10 TDs in 2022 and had 11 scoring rushes the following season while also throwing for 3,633 yards and 30 touchdowns to become the first FBS quarterback since Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes (2015-16) with at least 30 TD passes and 10 TD runs in back-to-back campaigns.
The 22-year-old Williams will be tasked with improving a passing offense that has been the worst in the NFL over the past two seasons (156.3 yards per game). Chicago attempted to help the cause by acquiring six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers and selecting Rome Odunze with the ninth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to join fellow wide receiver DJ Moore, who was obtained from Carolina along with the draft pick used to select Williams and recorded a career-high 1,364 yards in his first year with the club. The only one of that trio potentially on the field Thursday is Odunze, who hauled in 92 passes for 1,640 yards and 13 TDs at Washington last year and was a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award. See who to back at SportsLine.
Why the Texans can cover
Houston is coming off a season in which it became the first team in NFL history to win its division with both a rookie quarterback (C.J. Stroud) and head coach (DeMeco Ryans). Stroud, who had 4,108 passing yards with 23 TDs and only five interceptions, and DE Will Anderson Jr. were the fourth set of teammates ever to be named Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year. The 22-year-old Stroud is unlikely to play against the Bears, leaving QB duties to veterans such as Davis Mills, Case Keenum and Tim Boyle.
The 25-year-old Mills made 11 starts as a rookie in 2021 and 15 the following season, when he threw for 3,118 yards with 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Keenum, 36, began his NFL career with Houston in 2013 and returned last year, completing 34-of-53 pass attempts for 291 yards with a TD and three interceptions while starting two games. In 2023, Boyle was released by the New York Jets after going 48-of-77 for 360 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions in three contests (two starts) before being signed to the Texans’ practice squad. See who to back at SportsLine.
How to make Bears vs. Texans picks
Hartstein has analyzed this matchup from every angle. He’s leaning Under on the point total and has discovered a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. He’s only sharing what it is, and which side to back, at SportsLine.
Who wins the 2024 Hall of Fame Game, and which critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see Hartstein’s Texans vs. Bears picks, all from the NFL expert who is on a 42-27 roll on picks involving Houston, and find out.
