The Hall of Fame Game on Sunday night begins 2010 NFL preseason odds with the Cincinnati Bengals favored over the Dallas Cowboys. It will be the fourth Hall of Fame Game for the Cowboys but their first since 1988 while it is the third one for the Bengals in NFL preseason betting and their first since 1988.NFL preseason odds favor Cincinnati by 2.5 points on Sunday with the total at 32.5. The Cowboys have never won a Hall of Fame Game going 0-3 while the Bengals are 1-1 in their previous two games. In the Hall of Fame Game, the favorites have won six of the last seven and they are 4-2 against the spread. In the last five seasons, the Bengals are 12-8 against the spread in the preseason.
The preseason for the Bengals and the Cowboys will be all about staying healthy. Since both teams are playing in the Hall of Fame Game they will have five preseason games while all of the other NFL teams will have four. That means the starters will get very little playing time in this opening game on Sunday.
Quarterback rotations are very important in NFL preseason betting. The Bengals will go with Carson Palmer for a series or two and then it will be J.T. O’Sullivan and Jordan Palmer. The Cowboys will play Tony Romo for a series or two and then it is Jon Kitna, Stephen McGee and Matt Nichols. The Bengals would seem to have the edge in backup quarterbacks especially if Kitna doesn’t get much playing time behind Romo.
In a normal regular season game you would see the Cowboys favored against the Bengals but in this game because of the quarterback rotation the Bengals are getting a little bit of action. The Bengals are coming off an excellent season and some people believe they are Super Bowl contenders this season. Cincinnati picked up Terrell Owens to improve their receiving corps but he probably won’t see much playing time on Sunday.
The Cowboys are one of the favorites to reach the Super Bowl this season. They have a very good offense and a solid defense. The Cowboys added Dez Bryant in the draft but he will not play in this game due to injury.