Winner of 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game Faces Alarming Stat

The return of football season officially begins on Thursday evening with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game between the Houston Texans and the Chicago Bears.

Both the Texans and Bears enter the season with significant fan interest and momentum.

The Texans are coming off a division title and are led by a talented roster that includes last season's Offensive Rookie of the Year (quarterback C.J. Stroud) and Defensive Rookies of the Year (edge rusher Will Anderson Jr.).

Meanwhile, the Bears have two players who selected in the top 10 of April's draft: the No. 1 overall pick, quarterback Caleb Williams of USC, and the No. 9 pick, wide receiver Rome Odunze of Washington.

It's unlikely we will see any of these players on the field Thursday evening. However, fans of both teams might have a vested interest because of an unusual stat pertaining to the Hall of Fame Game.

In the past 22 seasons, teams that have won the Hall of Fame Game have failed to secure a postseason victory, with an 0-8 record in the playoffs. Conversely, during the same time frame, the teams that lost the Hall of Fame Game have managed a 4-5 record in the playoffs, per the X account of Dov Kleiman.

The Texans, finishing 10-7 and winners of the AFC South, made their return to the postseason last year after missing the previous three years. They beat the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card round, 45-14, but lost in the divisional round to the Baltimore Ravens, 34-10. In the three seasons before, Houston had not won more than four games.

The Bears have missed the postseason the last three years and have made it just three times in the last 15 seasons. They haven't won a playoff game since the 2010 season, when they beat the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round.