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Ravens, Bears will meet in the 2018 Hall of Fame game

The offseason is long, but before you know it we’ll be watching the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears in the annual Hall of Fame game.

The Ravens and Bears have been selected for the kickoff of the NFL’s preseason, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced. The game will be on Aug. 2, so set your countdown clocks accordingly.

The two teams in the game usually have ties to that year’s Hall of Fame class. Linebackers Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher, who spent their entire careers with the Ravens and Bears respectively, are in this year’s class.

The Hall of Fame game has experimented with different times and days in recent years, and for the second straight year the game will be on a Thursday night in Canton, Ohio.

The Hall of Fame game is typically played among backups, because it’s an extra game for both teams and neither one risks any starters in what amounts to a fifth preseason game. Still, it’s our first glimpse of football for almost six months after the Super Bowl ends, and people tune in. The game gets incredible television ratings; last year’s rating was better than most MLB and NBA playoff games.

Just think: We’re only 170 days away from seeing a football game again.

Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker (9) might get a few kicks in the Hall of Fame game on Aug. 2. (AP)
Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker (9) might get a few kicks in the Hall of Fame game on Aug. 2. (AP)

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!