2022 NFL Hall of Fame Game: Raiders vs. Jaguars Odds, Prediction

The NFL is back as the exhibition season kicks off per usual with the Hall of Fame Game from Canton, Ohio on Thursday night. This year features the Jacksonville Jaguars vs. the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders opened as short favourites to win on the NFL odds.

Pointspread

Las Vegas Raiders -110 -2
Jacksonville Jaguars -110 +2

Point Spread and Betting Analysis

This matchup kicks off the NFL’s 103rd season and is held at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium – adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The league likes to put teams in this game annually who have players (or coaches, etc.) who are being inducted into the Hall of Fame that weekend. The Raiders have receiver Cliff Branch and defensive lineman Richard Seymour (although most of his career was with New England) and the Jaguars have offensive lineman Tony Boselli.

It’s the fourth time in this game for the Raiders but first since moving to Las Vegas. They are 3-0. It’s the second for the Jaguars as their first NFL game was here in 1995 and they lost. Teams in the Hall of Fame Game are allowed to report to training camp a bit earlier than the rest of the league and also play one extra exhibition game.

Expect a very low-scoring game – there haven’t been 40 combined points scored in a HOF Game since 2013.

Jacksonville Jaguars

This will be the Jaguars head coaching debut of Doug Pederson, the former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Jags’ coach for the start of last season was multiple national championship winner Urban Meyer, but that was an abject disaster and he was fired during the season. Pederson is considered a terrific offensive coach, which makes sense because the Jaguars will only go as far as second-year QB Trevor Lawrence takes them. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft but struggled mightily as a rookie. Lawrence will not play Thursday. Running back Travis Etienne, who missed his 2021 rookie season with a Lisfranc injury, won’t play either. Neither will backup QB C.J. Beathard, who has been limited in camp while recovering from a groin injury. Jake Luton will start under centre. Pederson was 8-8 in exhibition games while with the Eagles.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders were a playoff team last year but still made a coaching change, hiring former Broncos head coach (that didn’t go well) and long-time Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Las Vegas also added arguably the NFL’s best receiver via trade in former Packer Davante Adams – he played with QB Derek Carr at Fresno State – and signed Pro Bowl pass-rusher Chandler Jones. You won’t see any of those guys Thursday and very few starters overall if any. The Raiders visit Jacksonville on Nov. 6, so they will be very vanilla in the Hall of Fame Game as will the Jaguars. McDaniels was 2-6 in the preseason with Denver. This will be a homecoming for McDaniels as he played high school football inside Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.