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New York Times
7 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
NFL is back (kinda) with Lions vs. Chargers in 2025 Hall of Fame Game: How to watch, lineups, odds
It's not exactly kneecap-biting time for Dan Campbell, and Jim Harbaugh may save his finest whole milks in the milk cellar, but the NFL is still very much back on Thursday. The 2025 preseason kicks off with the annual Hall of Fame Game. This year's installment features the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers, two playoff hopefuls that get to share a casual tune-up on national TV. Advertisement This broadcast will also be available on Peacock. The Lions went 15-2 last year while leading the league in total scoring. A gnarly and unfortunate string of injuries derailed their playoff run, though, and Detroit lost both of its lead coordinators this offseason. Aaron Glenn left the defense to lead the New York Jets, while OC Ben Johnson bowed out to fill the Chicago Bears' coaching vacancy. New offensive coordinator John Morton has jumped into his new role with zeal, creativity and sleeplessness, according to The Athletic's Colton Pouncy. New defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has been seen jumping around the practice field, as elite pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson is back from 2024's season-ending leg injury. The vibes in Allen Park seem high. The Lions are 1.5-point favorites at BetMGM — yes, you can bet on this game — but neither team will be working with a full roster. Of note, rookies Tate Ratledge and Tyleik Williams are not expected to play in Thursday's exhibition. Ratledge (Georgia, No. 57 draft pick) is gunning for the starting center role, Pouncy reports, while Williams (Ohio State, No. 28 pick) has been taking first-team DT reps all spring. Detroit's offense Thursday will be paced by backup quarterbacks Hendon Hooker and Kyle Allen. Hooker, a Tennessee product, went 29-for-44 last preseason with a touchdown pass and an interception. Allen was in the Pittsburgh Steelers' QB room in 2024, and his arrival in Detroit marks his fifth pro stopover since 2020. The biggest news out of Chargers camp has been Rashawn Slater's massive multi-year contract extension, which the team announced Sunday. Elsewhere on the offensive line, Jamaree Salyer looks remade on the inside, and Zion Johnson is potentially moving from guard to center and will play a couple of drives there against the Lions. Advertisement 'He's a different guy when you subtract 35 pounds of bad weight,' offensive coordinator Greg Roman said of Salyer, per The Athletic's Daniel Popper. 'His ability to move laterally (and) change direction quickly is so much better.' Popper, who's been covering Los Angeles' training days in San Diego and El Segundo, praised rookie wideout Dalevon Campbell and second-year defensive back Cam Hart. Other younger players, including rookies Omarion Hampton, Tre' Harris and KeAndre Lambert-Smith, will be in action Thursday while most of the starters will sit. With Justin Herbert on the sideline, Trey Lance will take the first snaps under center. Lance, the third pick in the 2021 draft, threw for 244 yards in his lone start with the Dallas Cowboys last year. Undrafted rookie DJ Uiagalelei will take over for Lance at some point in the second half, and veteran Taylor Heinicke will serve as the emergency QB. Come Saturday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will enshrine four new members — cornerback Eric Allen, defensive end Jared Allen, receiver Sterling Sharpe and Chargers luminary Antonio Gates. Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Dan Campbell: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Sport
- Tom's Guide
How to watch NFL Hall of Fame Game 2025: Live stream Chargers vs Lions for FREE
The Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions are two of the league's most fascinating projects entering the new season, so their meeting in the 2025 NFL Hall of Fame Game feels like a particularly tantalizing treat. While preseason games don't tend to be played at full intensity, both Jim Harbaugh and Dan Campbell are dealing with a lot of unknowns. You can watch NFL Hall of Fame Game live streams from anywhere with a VPN and potentially for FREE. The 2025 NFL Hall of Fame Game live stream takes place on Thursday, July 31.• Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT / 1 a.m. BST (Fri.) / 10 a.m. AEST (Fri.)• FREE STREAM — NFL Game Pass (U.K., Australia)• U.S. — NBC via Sling or Peacock• Watch anywhere — try NordVPN 100% risk free Having made the NFC Championship in 23/24, the Lions had been expected to get further than the Divisional round last season, but injuries shredded their defense. But the Lions' dismay went further than that, because they knew a rebuilding job was coming. Sure enough, the Lions have lost both their defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and their offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who did such outstanding jobs at Detroit that they've been appointed to head coaching roles at the Jets and Bears respectively. Center Frank Ragnow has also retired. Aidan Hutchinson's return is a rare but major positive. Justin Herbert had the NFL's best interception rate during the regular season but imploded spectacularly in the Wildcard round. It was a disappointing way to end the campaign, but Jim Harbaugh has clearly had a seismic impact. Omarion Hampton and Najee Harris will significantly improve the Chargers' ground game, though they may come to regret failing to replace Joey Bosa. Here's how to watch NFL Hall of Fame Game 2025 live streams from anywhere in the world, and potentially for free. Sling TV is the perfect place to watch the 2025 NFL Hall of Fame Game It is one of the most affordable live TV services on the market. The Sling Blue package includes more than 50 channels including NBC in select markets. Right now, new subscribers can get their first month half-price. If you're in the U.K or Australia you're in luck, as you can watch an NFL Hall of Fame Game live stream for FREE on NFL Game Pass. Traveling abroad right now? You can use a VPN to watch all the action as if you were back home. Of the options, NordVPN is our top pick, and we'll show you how to access it below. Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching the Chargers vs Lions on your usual subscription? You can still watch the NFL Hall of Fame Game live thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are. So ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN. It's the best on the market: NordVPN deal: 70% off Boasting lightning fast speeds, great features, streaming power, and class-leading security, NordVPN is our #1 VPN. ✅ Money back guarantee✅ 70% off usual price✅ Amazon gift card worth up to $50 Use Nord to unblock NFL Game Pass and watch the NFL Hall of Fame Game live online with our exclusive deal. Using a VPN is incredibly simple. 1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite. 2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're away from the U.K. but want to view NFL Game Pass as usual, you'd select a British server from the list. 3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head over to NFL Game Pass and enjoy! The NFL Hall of Fame Game is being shown on both NBC and Peacock in the U.S.. NBC is a local broadcast network that can accessed with one of the best TV antennas or through a cable TV package. If you've already cut the cord and don't have cable, you can watch NBC on a live TV service, like Sling TV (see above), Fubo, YouTube TV, Hulu With Live TV, and DirecTV Stream. Of these options, we recommend Sling TV as our favorite. Looking for a different streaming option? A subscription to Peacock costs $7.99/month for Premium membership, but the $13.99 Premium Plus plan gives you an ad-free experience. Visiting the U.S. from the U.K. or Australia? You can use a VPN to watch your free streams as if you were back home. NordVPN is our top pick. Fans in the U.K. can watch every game of the NFL preseason free-of-charge on NFL Game Pass. All you need is an account which you can sign up to via your email or your Facebook, Google and Apple accounts. If you're abroad right now, you can still follow your preferred NFL Hall of Fame Game live stream by using one of the best VPN services, such as NordVPN. The NFL Hall of Fame Game is exclusive to DAZN in Canada. Paying for a year upfront will get you the most bang for your buck, at CA$249.99. However, if you commit to a year but pay monthly, you'll get your first two months for CA$4.99 apiece, with the remaining 10 priced at CA$24.99/month. A monthly rolling subscription usually costs CA$34.99, but for a limited time you can get your first month for CA$19.99. You can also catch all the action on TSN which grants access to everything from $8/month or $80/year. British and Australian residents visiting Canada can get a FREE NFL Hall of Fame Game live stream through NFL Game Pass using NordVPN. NFL Game Pass is live streaming the NFL Hall of Fame Game, along with every other game of the preseason, for free in Australia. If you're away from Australia right now and want to watch your usual subscription from back home, use a quality VPN like NordVPN. We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
What Time Is The 2025 Hall Of Fame Game? Here's How To Watch
CANTON, OH - AUGUST 03: The Hall of Fame logo at midfield of Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium prior ... More to the National Football League Hall of Fame preseason game between the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns on August 3, 2023, at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) NFL preseason action kicks off Thursday night as the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers play in the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. The game, which will be held at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, begins the NFL's 106th season. NBC Sports will air the game on NBC and Peacock starting at 8 p.m. ET. Play by play caller Mike Tirico will be joined by analyst Cris Collinsworth, sideline reporter Melissa Stark and rules analyst Terry McAulay. The Lions, who won the NFC North in 2024 with a 15-2 record and are coached by Dan Campbell, will be the home team. Meanwhile, the Chargers, who finished last year with an 11-6 record, will be the away team. The Chargers are led by coach Jim Harbaugh, who was hired by the NFL franchise in 2024. The Lions, who most recently played in the Hall of Fame Game in 1991, will make their fourth trip to Canton. The team holds a 1-2 record. The Chargers, who have a 0-1-1 mark in the annual preseason game, last appeared in 1994. The first Hall of Fame Game was played in 1962 as the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals tied 21-21. As part of this year's festivities, four players will also be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, including Chargers legendary tight end Antonio Gates. The Detroit native spent his entire 16-year career with the Chargers where he had 955 receptions for 11,841 yards. He scored 116 touchdowns. Other class members include cornerback Eric Allen, a six-time Pro Bowl selection who recorded 54 interceptions and scored eight touchdowns during his career with the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders, as well as defensive end Jared Allen, who recorded 136 sacks in a 12-year career. Allen, a Dallas native and five-time Pro Bowler, played for the Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers. Wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, who played his entire seven-year career with the Green Bay Packers, rounds out the 2025 Class, which will be inducted following the Hall of Fame Game. Sharpe had 595 receptions for 8,134 yards and 65 touchdowns. His career was unfortunately cut short due to a neck injury.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
NFL offseason power rankings: No. 3 Detroit Lions lost in the playoffs, then had other big losses
It's hard to imagine anyone rooting against the Detroit Lions. They have a likable team led by a relatable head coach, a passionate fan base and have been terrible for most of their existence. Their rise to the elite tier of the NFL has been fun. So there's no joy in wondering if the Lions' best chances for that elusive Super Bowl appearance have already past. It's possible Detroit fans will be sitting around 20, 30 years from now and still rueing how the 2023 and 2024 seasons ended. Ranking playoff losses by the level of heartbreak isn't the most healthy exercise, so let's just say that the Lions' past two playoff losses are tied for first. In the NFC championship game two seasons ago, the Lions led the San Francisco 49ers 24-10 and their win probability reached 90.4%, according to Next Gen Stats. San Francisco stormed back to win. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Last season hurt in a different way. The Lions had a historic season, going 15-2 with the fourth-highest scoring team ever at 564 points. All they had to do was win two home games to make the Super Bowl. The Lions were 15-4 at home over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, including postseason, heading into their playoff game against the Washington Commanders. That game against the Commanders felt like quicksand, with the Lions sinking further every time they tried to take a step. A defense that was decimated by injuries was chasing Washington and its rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels all game. Detroit's offense suddenly couldn't stop making mistakes and turning the ball over. The Lions lost 45-31 and it was hard to put into words the devastation for a franchise that has never even been to a Super Bowl. There have been only nine teams in NFL history to win 15 regular-season games. Before last season, only one didn't win a playoff game. Now it's two. The 2011 Green Bay Packers were a great team but ultimately more forgettable than the 2010 team that went 10-6 but won a Super Bowl. Unfortunately for the Lions, they don't yet have that Super Bowl win to ease the pain of that unexpected one-and-done. "It's disappointing. It's hard," quarterback Jared Goff said. "We had everything we wanted. Home-field advantage, the fans were incredible and unfortunately, we just let it slip out of our hands." [Get more Lions news: Detroit team feed] When you become good, other teams pick at your roster and coaching staff. For decades, nobody wanted Lions coordinators. This past offseason, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn were two of the top three candidates on the head-coaching market, with Mike Vrabel being the other. Johnson was hired by the Chicago Bears and Glenn went to the New York Jets. It won't be easy to replace two of the best coordinators in football. The Lions have had a great offensive line the past few years but 40 percent of it needs to be replaced after guard Kevin Zeitler left in free agency and center Frank Ragnow retired. That's another huge blow. The good news is Detroit is still very, very good. The Lions' roster is still full of blue-chip players. Dan Campbell looks like one of the better head coaches in the league. And maybe the losses at coordinator won't be that bad. John Morton, who was on the Lions' staff in 2022 and spent the past two seasons with Sean Payton in Denver, takes Johnson's place as offensive coordinator. Glenn is replaced as defensive coordinator by Kelvin Sheppard, who was coaching Detroit's linebackers the past four seasons. They're both capable of keeping the Lions heading in the right direction. But things change quickly in the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles look hard to beat in the NFC. The NFC North is the toughest division in the league. Injuries can hit at the wrong times, which the Lions know all too well. Sometimes you catch the wrong matchup against a red-hot team in the playoffs, which Detroit also knows all about. Detroit will remain one of the best teams in the NFL. But you can be an elite team and never make a Super Bowl. After letting incredible opportunities slip by each of the past two seasons, then losing a lot of coaching and playing talent in the offseason, the Lions have to fear that possibility. Offseason grade The Lions have spent a lot of money on big contracts for their stars, but still found enough money to sign one of the best free agents on the market. D.J. Reed signed a three-year, $48 million deal. Reed was a sought after free agent but his deal, in terms of average annual value, was only fourth among cornerbacks who changed teams in the offseason. The Lions got a slight discount for an upgrade over Carlton Davis III, who left for the New England Patriots. The offseason was rough on the offensive line, with guard Kevin Zeitler leaving in free agency and center Frank Ragnow retiring at age 29. Zeitler was ranked as the NFL's third-best guard in Pro Football Focus' grades last season and Ragnow was the No. 2 center. Detroit drafted defensive tackle Tyleik Williams in the first round and offensive lineman Tate Ratledge in the second. Ratledge could play a big role right away with Zeitler and Ragnow gone. Grade: C Quarterback report Jared Goff didn't look like a mainstay at quarterback for the Lions when they traded for him in 2021, but that's what he became. He has a 100.2 passer rating in his four Lions seasons, and over the past three seasons he has averaged 4,547 yards and 32 touchdowns per season. Of course, those three seasons came with Ben Johnson running the offense. Johnson is off to Chicago, and now Goff has to prove he can have the same level of success with John Morton replacing Johnson as offensive coordinator. Goff said the two already have a good rapport, and part of that was Morton being in Detroit for the 2022 season as a senior offensive assistant. Morton has said he wants to maintain the status quo — "I mean, I'm not changing much,' he said, via the Detroit Free Press. 'Why? It's working, right?" — and Goff seems to already have a good vibe with him. "Johnny's been great. He's got such great ideas," Goff told Fox 2 in Detroit. "He was here a few years ago and so helpful for Ben in that first year, just ideas and whatnot, and he's continued with that. Seeing some of the ideas that he's brought to us from the passing game standpoint is stuff I've never done before, but I've seen around the league. Him being able to teach it to us in a certain way and show us how to do things, and certainly it will still be a lot of the same stuff we've done, but there's a lot of really cool new wrinkles that he's been able to add that I'm really excited about." BetMGM odds breakdown From Yahoo's Ben Fawkes: 'This is still one of the best rosters in the league, but it does feel like Detroit's Super Bowl window is closing. Losing both coordinators (Aaron Glenn to Jets, Ben Johnson to Bears) to head coaching jobs will be tough to replace, along with the surprise retirement of center Frank Ragnow. But Aidan Hutchinson's return from injury and the free-agent signing of edge rusher Marcus Davenport should help the pass rush. Detroit still has a win total of 10.5 at BetMGM, is a heavy favorite (-200) to make the postseason and has the second-best odds (+475) behind the Eagles to win the NFC. Can they break through in the playoffs this season?" Yahoo's fantasy take From Yahoo's Scott Pianowski: 'The market gets nervous when someone like Ben Johnson leaves Detroit, but Jared Goff is a tenured quarterback in Detroit — he's essentially a coordinator for this offensive unit. Goff isn't going to forget what's worked with Amon-Ra St. Brown the last four years. The Sun God lost some volume last year but made it for it with a spike in his touchdown rate. But even if he regresses to the 2022 touchdown rate, we're still talking about a player with a very high floor. I have no problem paying the sticker on St. Brown, which is somewhere in the 9-12 range in most Yahoo leagues." Stat to remember This won't surprise anyone who paid the slightest attention to the 2024 Lions, but they finished the season as the most injured defense in the NFL. The Lions had 86.5 adjusted games lost to injury on defense according to FTN Fantasy, most in the league. FTN's Aaron Schatz said that was the sixth-most games lost on defense since he started tracking the stat in 2001. Despite that, the Lions' defense finished fifth in DVOA. There's a reason Aaron Glenn is off to coach the Jets. The biggest injury was to defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who looked like he might make a run for NFL Defensive Player of the Year before he suffered a grisly broken leg in Detroit's fifth game. Through five games Hutchinson had 7.5 sacks. The reports on Hutchinson's health have been positive, and getting him back will change Detroit's defense. The Lions had to blitz more without him, which puts extra stress on the back seven. Other players will return from injury and assuming the bad injury luck doesn't happen two straight seasons, Detroit's defense should rebound. Not that it was bad last season, despite all those injuries. Burning question Can Jahmyr Gibbs handle more? Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are the best 1-2 running back punch in the NFL. But we all know Gibbs is the better talent. The Lions have split the work between the two backs and with great results. Gibbs has started just seven games in two seasons, a nod of respect to Montgomery and his role. But Gibbs showed last season how great he can be as the clear featured back. Gibbs started the final three games last season with Montgomery out, and he had 477 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns while logging three of his four largest carry totals of the season. Montgomery wasn't 100% in the playoffs and Gibbs had 175 total yards and two touchdowns. It will be hard to resist seeing how much more Gibbs can handle in his third season. We've already seen what the results could look like. The Lions don't really spread the ball around much. Almost all of the production will come from these players: Gibbs, Montgomery, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta. That's a pretty good nucleus to rely on. Gibbs had 1,929 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns last season despite sharing with those other stars, particularly Montgomery. We'll see if new coordinator John Morton plans to use Gibbs a little more this season. Best-case scenario For once, maybe the loss of coordinators is being overstated? Probably not, because Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn were fantastic. But John Morton promises to not change the offense much, and new defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has learned from Glenn the past four seasons. Yet, there hasn't been a Lions discussion all offseason without mentioning Johnson and Glenn, while ignoring that the roster is pretty much the same. The Lions' offense was one of the highest scoring in NFL history with an array of star players and Detroit's defense was mostly very good despite a ridiculous run of injuries. In DVOA the Lions finished second in offense, fifth in defense (with all those injuries) and first in special teams. It's really hard to finish first in all three phases, but that's actually possible for the Lions. A top three finish across the board is definitely not a stretch. The Lions would have done it last season if not for the defensive injuries. Detroit went 15-2 last season and that's unlikely to repeat. But finishing with the best record in the NFL, taking advantage of a No. 1 seed to win the NFC and going on to win Super Bowl LX is obviously on the table for the Lions. Nightmare scenario The loss of two great coordinators is not the Lions' only concern. The strength of Detroit the past few seasons has been the NFL's best or second-best offensive line just behind Philadelphia. Losing one of the best centers and guards in the league without a great replacement plan turns the Lions' strength into a potential issue. Detroit's offensive line won't fall too far — just like the offense and defense won't collapse without Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn — but the Lions have a surprisingly small cushion. They play in the only division in the NFL in which all four teams should be viewed as playoff-level teams. Detroit won 15 games last season and didn't clinch the division until the final game of the regular season, and a similar test from the Minnesota Vikings, Packers, Bears or maybe all three should be expected. A small step back could cost the Lions the NFC North, forcing Detroit on the road in the playoffs. And we all know that anything less than a Super Bowl season would be a disappointment. The crystal ball says It's weird to talk about the Lions in "Super Bowl or bust" terms, but here we are. Detroit has already advanced to an NFC championship game and it just posted the greatest regular season in franchise history. Only one step remains. The way the playoffs ended for Detroit the past two seasons adds to the urgency. The Lions know they're close, but getting over the hump is hard. I think the Lions have at least one more season as NFC North champs, but the rest of the division is coming on fast. And coming into this season, the Eagles look like the better team in the NFC. I won't rule out Detroit clearly being the best team in football now that its defense is healthier, but I'm not as confident about that as I was a year ago. While the Lions winning a Super Bowl would still be one of the greatest stories in American sports, every year that passes lessens the possibility of it happening. The window won't stay open much longer.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dan Campbell references Metallica in interview with Tom Pelissero at Lions camp 'Back Together Weekend'
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell references Metallica in interview with NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero at Lions camp.
