The NFL preseason gets underway when the Chicago Bears meet the Houston Texans in the 2024 NFL Hall of Fame Game on Thursday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Chicago endured its third consecutive losing season in 2023, going 7-10 to finish last in the NFC North, but has reason for hope after selecting USC quarterback Caleb Williams first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Houston won its seventh AFC South title with a 10-7 record last year after recording a total of 11 wins over the previous three campaigns.

Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET. Houston is a 1.5-point favorite in the latest Bears vs. Texans odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 31.5.

Before you make any Texans vs. Bears picks or 2024 Hall of Fame Game predictions of your own, you NEED to see what SportsLine NFL expert Larry Hartstein has to say, given his mastery of picks in games involving Houston.

A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources with an analytical approach he honed working for Pro Football Focus. He tied for 52nd place (out of 1,598 entries) in the 2022 Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, going 53-34-3 ATS. Hartstein's weekly Vegas contest selections form the basis of his NFL best bets column, which is 79-48-2 (62.2%, +25.95 units) since its inception in 2022.

Most importantly, Hartstein has a read on the pulse of the Texans. He is 42-27-4 (+1229) on his last 73 against-the-spread picks in games involving Houston! Anyone who has followed him is way up.

Now, Hartstein has locked in another confident against-the-spread pick for Bears vs. Texans. We can tell you he's leaning Under the total, but he knows a crucial X-factor makes one side of the spread a MUST-BACK! You ABSOLUTELY need to see what it is before locking in any picks of your own.

Who wins Bears vs. Texans in the NFL Hall of Fame Game 2024 on Thursday? And what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Larry Hartstein's pick for Texans vs. Bears, all from the expert who is on a 42-27 roll on picks involving Houston!