Football returned on Thursday night as the Chicago Bears took on the Houston Texans in the NFL Hall of Fame Game - although the two teams were unable to complete four quarters of action.
The preseason’s annual curtain raiser has been played in Canton, Ohio since 1962 and coincides with the annual Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony as it marks the first on-field action of the new campaign.
This year it was the turn of the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans to lock horns at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in a match which began with the first outing of the new ‘Dynamic Kickoff’ rule which was introduced this offseason to add more excitement to kickoffs and improve player safety.
While there were no exciting return plays to report of in this first game of the preseason, the match was shaping up to be an entertaining affair, with the Bears 21-17 up against the Texans towards the end of the third quarter.
The match had been played in poor weather conditions as a thunderstorm took hold of the region and with 3:31 remaining in the third quarter, players were taken off the field, due to lightning in the distance.
Fans were instructed to leave their seats and take shelter and 30 minutes later, officials confirmed that the game had been called to a halt, with the Bears being awarded the victory.
"They knew the weather was coming in and told us before the game," Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said. "They had a plan in place to watch it because you never know how bad it's going to be in terms of the lightning and the severity of it. It was severe enough that they called it. They made a good call."
Among the cast of backups putting in eye-catch performances was Bears quarterback Brett Rypien, who threw for three touchdowns, two of which were hauled in by Collin Johnson, while Texans backup quarterback Davis Mills completed 10 of 13 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Live on DAZN: Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov on August 3. Click here for details.