Cowboys vs. Cardinals: NFL Hall of Fame Game Odds and Prediction

Nearly six months to the day that the 2016 NFL season concluded with the Patriots beating the Falcons in Super Bowl LI in early February, the 2017 exhibition schedule begins Thursday night with the annual Hall of Fame Game. This year, it features the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals and is currently listed as a pick’em on Sports Interaction NFL odds.

Dallas Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals

Spread: Opened at Pick’em – Currently Dallas -2
Total: 37
Date: Thursday, Aug. 3, 8 p.m. ET
Location: Fawcett Stadium, Canton, Ohio

Hall of Fame Game History

Of course, Canton is the home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the NFL has been staging its first exhibition game of each summer there since 1962. However, there was no game last year as the matchup between the Colts and Packers was canceled. The field gets torn up each Saturday during the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony. In 2016, crews were unable to get the field uncovered and painted with enough time for the paint to dry, and when clumps of paint and rubber pellets began to form the league had no choice but to cancel the game, a public relations black eye for sure.

That’s part of the reason why the game was moved to Thursday, ahead of Saturday’s enshrinement. It also allows that ceremony to be the anchor of the weekend and not overshadowed by the football game, in which few starters play as it is.

Teams selected for the Hall of Fame Game have five preseason games and are allowed to report to training camp a bit earlier than the other 30 clubs. The league also tries to schedule teams that have a link to a member being enshrined into the Hall that weekend. Both the Cardinals and Cowboys check that box with former Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner going in as well as current Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones. Other players in the Class of 2017 are kicker Morten Andersen, running back Terrell Davis, safety Kenny Easley, defensive end Jason Taylor and running back LaDainian Tomlinson.

Arizona Cardinals

You won’t see many starters play and those that do, only very briefly. Arizona coach Bruce Arians already has ruled out starting quarterback Carson Palmer and star receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who will be a member of the Hall of Fame some day. Palmer is 37 and injury prone so there’s no need to see him out there. Backup Drew Stanton should start.

Fitz is 33 but had a terrific 2016 season with 107 catches for 1,023 yards and six scores. He’s ninth in league with 14,389 career yards and could potentially catch No. 2 Terrell Owens (15,934) with a huge season. Fitz is eighth in NFL history with 104 TD catches. He could climb as high as No. 6 in 2017, which could be his last year.

I honestly put no stake in what a team does in the preseason record-wise, but you can glean some hints from what a head coach’s record is during exhibitions. The Cardinals are 7-9 in Arians’ four years. They are 1-2-1 in this game, last playing in 2012 and losing to New Orleans. Yes, there could be a tie as no one wants to see fourth-stringers play a long overtime.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys’ 2016 season changed completely during that preseason. Rookie fourth-round pick Dak Prescott played very well and was suddenly thrust into the starting job when Tony Romo injured his back in an exhibition game against Seattle. Prescott went on to have one of the best rookie seasons ever for a quarterback in winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Dallas doesn’t have the luxury of Romo as Prescott’s backup this year as Romo is now working as an analyst for CBS. It’s not clear if Prescott will play Thursday. The two main QBs behind him are Kellen Moore and Luke McCown, who was just signed last week.

Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, who had one of the best rookie running back seasons in NFL history last year (he would have won OROY almost any other season), were the biggest reasons Dallas finished 13-3 and won the NFC East. However, the Cowboys lost in the divisional round at home to Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers. That Dallas secondary remains a major question mark entering 2017. The Cowboys should be a terrific offensive team if everyone stays healthy. Their O-Line is the NFL’s best.

The Cowboys haven’t been a good preseason bet under Coach Jason Garrett as they are 9-16 and finished with a winning record once. Dallas is 2-3 in the Hall of Fame Game, last competing in 2013 and beating Miami.

Cowboys vs. Cardinals Predictions

You aren’t likely to see many spreads greater than 3 in the exhibition season. The best tip I can offer is to go by a coach’s preseason record. Some want to win and some don’t care. For that reason only, I’ll take Arizona here despite Palmer and Fitzgerald for sure sitting out.