NFL Hall of Fame Game Free Pick- Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys

2017 NFL Hall of Fame Game is Upon Us

It all gets underway this Thursday night. The 2017 NFL Hall of Fame Game kicks off the preseason schedule. The Arizona Cardinals will be taking on the Dallas Cowboys in this year’s Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. Starting time for the game is at 8 p.m. on NBC. BetAnySports opened the Cowboys as slight two-point favorites. The total line was set at 37.5 points. The line now shows the game as a Pickem' and the total is at 36.5.

Cardinals Looking for Rebound in 2017

The Cardinals slipped to 7-8-1 last season. After three-straight years of posting double-digit wins under the guidance of head coach Bruce Arians, they let it get away from them. They went 6-10 against the spread during the season. The Cards closed things out on strong note by winning their last two games both SU and ATS. The total went OVER BetAnySports’ closing line in Arizona’s last seven regular season games.

Carson Palmer remains at the helm as the Cardinals’ starting quarterback. Look for Drew Stanton, Blaine Gabbert and Trevor Knight to take the majority of the snaps on Thursday night. Running back David Johnson led the team in rushing last season with 1,239 yards. This was on 293 attempts for an average of 4.2 yards a carry. The featured back against Dallas could be veteran Chris Johnson. Johnson is closing in on 10,000 rushing yards over the course of his 10-year NFL career.

Cowboys to Use NFL Hall of Fame Game to Size Things Up

Dallas vaulted to the top of the NFC East last season with a SU 13-3 run after winning just four games in 2015. The Cowboys were a profitable 10-6-1 ATS, but they failed to cover in five of their last six regular season games. They lost to Green Bay 34-31 in the first round of the playoffs as five-point home favorites with the total going OVER BetAnySports’ closing 52.5-point line after it has stayed UNDER in five of their previous seven games.

Dak Prescott firmly established himself as the Cowboys’ new franchise quarterback over long-time incumbent Tony Romo with his stellar play in 2016, but Thursday’s game should feature Kellen Moore under center backed up by Cooper Rush and Jameill Showers. Ezekiel Elliott was a big reason for Dallas’s success last season running the ball with an NFL-high 1,631 rushing yards on 322 carries, but backup Ronnie Hillman should be the featured back against Arizona early in the game.

It is almost next to impossible to predict how the first NFL preseason game of a new season will play itself out, especially on a neutral field. Given the number of different players that should see action on Thursday night, I would stick with the UNDER on BetAnySports’ total line of 36.5 as my ‘best bet’ pick.