Bears vs Texans score updates, highlights: Hall of Fame Game in Canton opens NFL preseason
CANTON — Are you ready for some football?
The 2024 NFL exhibition season starts tonight at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium where the Chicago Bears will face the Houston Texans in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. Kickoff time is 8 p.m.
Check back here for live score updates, analysis and highlights. Meantime, here are some things to know about tonight's Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.
What channel is the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on TV?
ABC and ESPN will televise the game live. The Monday Night Football broadcast team of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters will call the game. Laura Rutledge will interview this year's Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinees throughout the game.
Canton McKinley graduate Dominque Robinson fighting to make Chicago Bears final roster
Dominique Robinson, a McKinley High School graduate, enters his third season with the Bears looking to solidify his roster spot. The former fifth-round pick out of Miami (Ohio) is listed as second-team defensive end along with Jacob Martin. Montez Sweat and DeMarcus Walker are the starters. Also in the mix is Austin Booker, who the Bears drafted out of Kansas in the fifth round this year.
With Chicago not playing its starters tonight, Robinson, Booker and the rest of the Bears defensive ends should get plenty of opportunities to showcase themselves.
Robinson has played in 28 career games (seven starts), recording 42 tackles (24 solo), two sacks, three tackles for loss, three QB hurries and three passes defensed. But the former 174th overall pick of the 2022 draft produced most of those numbers as a rookie. He played in just 11 games last year with several healthy scratches, totaling 12 tackles, half a sack and one QB hit.
How did the Bears and Texans fare during the 2023 NFL season?
The Bears won five of their last eight games to finish 7-10. They tied for third in the NFC North.
The Texans won the AFC South with a 10-7 record. They beat the Cleveland Browns 45-14 in an AFC wild card game before losing to the Baltimore Ravens 34-10 in the divisional round.
When was the last time the Bears and Texans played in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game?
The Bears lost to the Baltimore Ravens 17-16 in 2018. The defeat came after four straight wins in Canton.
The Texans lost to the New York Giants 34-17 in 2002. It was the first exhibition game of their inaugural season.
Bears safety to skip Hall of Fame game to support wife — Simone Biles — at Paris Olympics
Bears safety Jonathan Owens received permission to skip the Hall of Fame Game to take a trip to Paris.
That's where his wife, four-time Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles, will be competing in the 2024 Olympics.
The team final in women's gymnastics was Tuesday and the all-around final is Thursday, Aug. 1.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said there was no decision to be made.
"We respect the Olympics. That's a big deal," Eberflus said. "He's supporting the one he loves the most. I think that's so cool that he gets to do that, we welcome that and it's going to be awesome."
Owens was granted time off between July 29 and Aug. 3 to head to Paris, missing four practices and the game against the Houston Texans. He broke into the NFL from Missouri Western with the Texans and met Biles in Houston in 2020.
Owens and Biles married in 2023.
Owens, 29, has played 48 career games with the Texans and Green Bay Packers. He signed a two-year contract with the Bears as an unrestricted free agent.
— Field Level Media
Who are the Class of 2024 Hall of Fame enshrinees?
The Class of 2024 features seven men — Dwight Freeney, Randy Gradishar, Devin Hester, Andre Johnson, Steve McMichael, Julius Peppers and Patrick Willis.
When is the Hall of Fame enshrinement in Canton?
This year's enshrinement is Saturday, Aug. 3, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The event begins at noon.
Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com
On X: @mpopovichREP
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Chicago Bears score, updates vs. Houston Texans in Hall of Fame Game
