2024 NFL Hall of Fame Game Takeaways
Welcome back to NFL football! We eagerly awaited the annual Hall of Fame Game, which featured the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears. It has been too long without football, and even though this tilt rarely includes much playing time for starters (if any), we had fun just getting back to the game. As usual, the game featured a steady downpour and a lightning cancellation. Regardless, the Bears’ 21-17 victory in this shortened game was still enjoyable and served as a crucial showcase for players fighting for roster spots. Tune in for the induction ceremony tomorrow, but for today, enjoy our Hall of Fame Game takeaways!
#1 Pick Caleb Williams’ Debut Must Wait Another Week
Let’s get this one out of the way first. Arguably the biggest topic concerning this game is who we didn’t see. The new face of the franchise lobbied to play, but unless HC Matt Eberflus was planning on trotting out his whole starting offensive line with Caleb Williams, it made sense to keep him safe on the sideline. He was far from alone, as neither team played a single starter outside of special teams. You might be inclined to believe that this 4th preseason game for these two teams is superfluous, especially on a slippery field. However, I can make a good argument for starting Williams and giving the rookie some extremely valuable reps.
As well as Williams played in college, the NFL is a completely different beast. QBs who appeared to be generational talents have struggled mightily in their first professional seasons. The more experience they can get when the games don’t count, the better off they’ll be. One flaw with Williams is that he held onto the ball too long in college, taking sacks while trying to do too much. Giving him the chance to play with structure would be beneficial. He’d also build some chemistry with his teammates. There will of course be time to do all this, but I can’t help but view his absence in this game as a slight missed opportunity.
New Kickoff Rules Underwhelm in First Exhibition
In case you missed it, the NFL, as they seem to do every year, made changes to the kickoff. This year’s alterations were the most sweeping in recent memory, as the league had grown tired of so many touchbacks. However, they wanted to make the play safe without eliminating it completely. Therefore, the NFL settled on a modified version of the XFL kickoff. You can read all about it here, but essentially both teams line up at the receiving team’s 40 and cannot move until the ball is touched. We got to see it in action for the first time, and it’s clear that much work remains to be done.
If the NFL wanted to see exciting kickoffs, they failed. Our first 4 returns brought the ball to the 26, the 26 again, the 20 (with an illegal formation penalty on Chicago for moving early, which was declined), and the 21. Just one kick became a touchback, which now comes out to the 30 if the ball reaches the end zone in the air (if it bounces in the “landing zone” before entering the end zone, the ball is placed at the 20). Every return was quickly snuffed out. The plays lasted only a couple of seconds longer than a touchback. So far, the field position is worse than before, which doesn’t align with an offensively minded league.
Kickoff teams are so far upfield that they are limiting the average return. If things continue like this, 50-yard returns will become almost nonexistent. The players don’t have far to run, so they reach the receiver’s 25-yard line in a hurry. Returns are likely going to be short like we saw in this game or broken for TDs. The in-between options may be rare. Both teams tried out different strategies with their blockers, but nothing was particularly effective.
Each team practiced the new holding rule, which will become relevant if wind prevents the ball from staying on the tee. You now get a 12th player to hold the ball, who must then immediately run off the field. When the Texans tried it, we got our second kickoff penalty for a player moving early. It’s nice that teams won’t have to use one of their 11 men to do the holding. That may be the lone positive at this point. Everything else we saw was rather uninspiring, though perhaps more interesting than touchbacks.
I won’t judge the new format too harshly just yet, but only because teams aren’t experienced with it. Things SHOULD improve at least a little bit as ST coordinators figure out what works and what doesn’t. Clearly, what we saw in the Hall of Fame game was not successful. Teams got some valuable tape though, which they will now take back to the drawing board. I’ll revisit this topic in a few weeks once we see more instances of these kickoffs. However, the major flaw I described above feels more like a feature than a bug that can be worked out with practice.
Possible Surprises in Both Teams’ RB Pecking Orders
Each of these teams has an established starting RB (Joe Mixon for Houston and D’Andre Swift for Chicago). The Texans even seem content with their #2 back, Dameon Pierce, who didn’t play in this game (that’s a good thing in this case). Behind those 3 guys, the jobs seem wide open. Cam Akers, who admittedly just arrived in Houston, can’t be thrilled that he was the third RB to play given his pedigree. However, the cream has a way of rising to the top. Despite his 2.6 YPC, Akers looked spry and earned 18 yards and a TD through the air. Displacing JJ Taylor and Dare Ogunbowale shouldn’t be too difficult.
The Bears’ situation is rather interesting. Khalil Herbert, last year’s #1 back who has a 4.9 YPC average for his career, didn’t start. Second-year pro Roschon Johnson received that honor, taking 6 carries for 24 yards and catching one pass for 7 yards. Chicago’s depth chart lists Herbert ahead of Johnson, and so do I. As much as I like Johnson, Herbert just looks like the better back right now. He ran for 35 yards on just 4 carries and broke away from tackles with ease. His elusiveness is superior, and he should be the one spelling Swift. The bigger names might win out in the end, but these teams are definitely making them earn it.
Two WRs Unlike to Make Rosters Show Out
Houston, who added Stefon Diggs to Nico Collins and Tank Dell, does not need extra WRs. Neither do the Bears, who supplemented star DJ Moore with Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze. The deep reserves on these teams will likely need to use their preseason playing times as auditions for other teams, and two wideouts took that to heart. For Houston, second-year man Xavier Hutchinson played a bunch of snaps and had a big game. He had 5 catches for 56 yards, doubling the yardage of the next-closest teammate. Hutchinson looked fluid in his routes, which explained how he could get so wide open.
On the Chicago side, Collin Johnson tied Hutchinson with for a game-high 56 yards on 3 catches. He made a great over-the-shoulder catch and nearly snagged another, but it was overturned upon review. I thought that was a borderline call. He bounced back though, snagging two TDs from QB Brett Rypien. To be fair, the Texans’ backup defense made Rypien (11/15, 166 yards, 3 TDs) look more like his uncle Mark with blown coverages. Still, Johnson showed strong hands and big-play ability. Those skills translate regardless of your opponent. If these two wideouts can’t make their squads, perhaps other teams will come calling.
Rookie Watch
Each week of the preseason, I’m going to try to highlight a few rookies that stood out. We had just one game to work with, and even that matchup lost out on an entire quarter and change. There were few rookies who actually did much, as the primary players of interest (Williams, Odunze, and Texans CB Kamari Lassiter) didn’t participate. For Chicago, two UDFAs made plays. CB Leon Jones earned a pair of PBUs, showing some sticky coverage. TE Brenden Bates caught just two passes but made them both count, racking up 47 yards. That explosiveness could open a few eyes in Bears camp.
The Texans also had a pair of rookie contributors. One USC rookie happened to play in this game, and that was S Calen Bullock. He led the team with 5 tackles and blew up TE Tommy Sweeney (3/47/1) to force a fumble. However, the Bears recovered it, and Bullock blew a coverage on a Johnson TD just a few plays later. Houston will probably take the bad with the good at this stage. Fourth-round TE Cade Stover hauled in two passes for 26 yards and made a key block on a running play. Blocking is a good way for a backup TE to earn snaps, especially when starter Dalton Schultz doesn’t do a whole lot of it.