Panthers rookie QB Haynes King's rushing TD as time expires lifts Carolina over Cardinals

FINAL: Panthers 33, Cardinals 30

What a way to close out the Hall of Fame Game!

Haynes King delivered in the clutch for the Panthers, using his legs for a couple of critical plays including the game-winning touchdown. The reigning ACC Player of the Year scrambled from 5 yards out and dived across the goal line as time expired to put Carolina on top on the final play of the night.

That came after a huge run on third-and-14 earlier in the possession. King scrambled for 26 yards to not only keep the drive alive but also to set the Panthers up within reach of the end zone.

King, out of Georgia Tech, finished the day at 21-for-34 with 180 passing yards and two touchdowns to go with 39 rushing yards and another score.

1:55 4Q: Cardinals 30, Panthers 27

LaFleur's fourth-down decision earlier in the fourth quarter did not come back to bite the Cardinals -- not yet, at least. Arizona scored the touchdown it needed to leap back into the lead on a Slovis-to-Bryson Green 1-yard completion. It took a review for the scoring play to go on the board, as the replay crew overturned the call on the field of an incomplete pass. Green narrowly kept his toes in bounds on the sliding grab.

Keep in mind that there is no overtime in the Hall of Fame Game. A Panthers field goal on the next drive could end the game in a tie.

6:53 4Q: Panthers 27, Cardinals 23

Rookie running back Miles Davis asserted his presence in the first game of his career. He received four consecutive touches to open the drive and racked up 50 total yards across three carries and a catch. The highlight came on a 36-yard rush, which stands as the longest running play and second-longest play from scrimmage of the game.

The rookie from Utah State set up a 37-yard field goal from Ryan Fitzgerald, which extended the lead to four points.

10:19 4Q: Panthers 24, Cardinals 23

Ryland squeaked his third field goal just inside the right upright from 35 yards out to pull the Cardinals within a point.

LaFleur was not nearly as aggressive as Canales in a 4th-and-short situation as he brought on the special teams unit. Will the decision come back to bite the first-year coach? The pressure is now on his defense to prevent the deficit from growing larger than a point.

The way the offense was operating on that drive, it would not have been a surprise to see him leave the group on the field. Running back Evan Hull accumulated 18 yards on the possession across four carries, and Slovis connected on passes of 27 and 8 yards. They will need to put together at least one more drive like that in order to jump back in front.

14:20 Q4: Panthers 24, Cardinals 20

Canales left his offense on the field, and it paid off. King converted the 4th-and-2 with a 22-yard bootleg completion to tight end Caden Prieskorn. On the ensuing play, he rolled out to the left and dumped the ball off to Tyus for a 4-yard touchdown pass -- King's second score of the night.

Tyus made up for his fumble on the previous possession to give Carolina its first lead.

Carolina has a decision to make during the quarter break. A 4th-and-2 at the Arizona 26-yard line will test whether Dave Canales wants to give his offense a chance at taking a fourth-quarter lead or if he is content to settle for a game-tying field goal attempt.

4:42 3Q: Cardinals 20, Panthers 17

Beck's day is done. He headed to the bench with Kedon Slovis coming on in relief, and the latter capitalized on great starting field position by getting the Cardinals into field goal range. The passing game remained effective through the quarterback change with Slovis connecting on a 10-yarder and 19-yarder to move into the red zone.

A holding penalty halted the momentum shy of the end zone and forced Arizona to settle for Ryland's second field goal of the evening: a 43-yard conversion.

Anthony Tyus III handled two carries on Carolina's first drive of the second half, and neither went according to plan. His first touch went for a 1-yard loss, and he coughed up the ball on the second. Quinton Newsome forced the loose ball and picked it up to give the Cardinals excellent starting field position on the Carolina side of midfield.

LaFleur is getting a nice, long look at his rookie quarterback in the preseason opener as he left Beck in to open the third quarter. He ought to be pleased with Beck's consistency after another drive with four completions, but the first-year coach will not be as thrilled with the false start and holding penalties that halted the possession.

Beck nearly delivered another highlight throw on fourth down as he put a deep ball on the money for Reggie Virgil, but the pass went incomplete.

Carolina ended the half with a field goal that tied the score at halftime, 17-17. After a scoreless opening quarter, the two teams combined for 34 points in the second quarter. 

The star of the half was Carson Beck, who went 11 of 14 for 148 yards and a TD and no picks. His favorite target was Jalen Brooks, who caught 3 of 4 targets for 99 yards. Bam Knight led Arizona's ground attack with 56 yards on 11 carries. 

For the Panthers, Haynes King and Kenny Pickett combined to go 19 of 28 for 151 yards and a TD. 

Beck helped the Cardinals on a 10-play, 51-yard drive that led to a Chad Ryland 35-yard FG that gave the Cardinals a 17-14 lead late in the half. Beck went 1 of 2 for 14 yards on the drive. 

Haynes King, who replaced Pickett before Carolina's fourth drive, engineered a 10-play, 65-yard drive that culminated in a 15-yard TD to Ja'Seem Reed. 

King, an undrafted rookie out of Georgia Tech, was 5 of 8 for 44 yards on the drive. 

Beck's big night now includes a five-yard TD pass to Simi Fehoko that gave the Cardinals a 14-7 lead with 9:38 left in the second quarter. Beck is now 10 of 12 for 134 yards and a score. 

The Beck-Brooks combo struck again with the duo connecting on a 49-yard strike, as Arizona is threatening to score again. A penalty was also called against Carolina for a big hit on Brooks as he was making the calls. Brooks managed to hang onto the ball and appears to be OK despite the big hit. 

A.J. Dillon, a veteran power back, tied the score with a one-yard TD run that capped off Carolina's 10-play, 67-yard drive. Pickett was solid on the drive, going 4 of 6 for 50 yards. 

We're seeing two of the best offensive head coaching minds go at it tonight between Dave Canales and Mike LaFleur. Both coaches just orchestrated impressive scoring drives. 

The first TD of 2026 was authored by Cardinals RB Corey Kiner, who slammed his way into the end zone from a yard out. Kiner's TD capped off a very impressive 13-play, 96-yard drive that took 7:17 off the clock. 

Beck was a perfect 6 of 6 for 72 yards on the drive. 

Arizona is on the verge of scoring the first points of the 2026 season, courtesy of Beck's big completion to Brooks. Beck was an impressive 8 of 9 for 81 yards in the opening quarter. He also had a first down run on Arizona's first drive. 

Pickett was 4 of 5 for 12 yards and a sack. 

Carson Beck's big play in the NFL was this impressive 35-yard completion to Jalen Brooks on Arizona's second possession. Brooks beat his defender, and Beck hit him in stride for a big gain. 

Beck has been impressive so far. 

So far, the biggest standouts from this game have been both teams' special teams units. Both punting teams downed the ball inside the 5-yard-line. The Panthers, backed up in their own end zone, moved the ball courtesy of a DPI but eventually had to punt. Let's see how Carson Beck does in the shadow of his end zone. 

Carson Beck picked up a first down on an impressive scramble third-down run, but Arizona ultimately punted after Will Lee made a nice breakup of a Beck pass on third down. Lee is part of a talented Panthers' secondary that played a key role in Carolina's surprising playoff run last season. 

A sack by veteran DT Andrew Billings forces a Panthers punt. Carolina got one first down and two completions from Kenny Pickett, but Billings' sack stopped the Panthers from advancing further. 

Pickett went 2 for 2 with two short completions. Would be nice to see him stretch the field on Carolina's next drive. 

Cardinals are kicking off, Panthers will receive. Pristine night for football. 

The Cardinals are also showing love for Larry Fitzgerald, who like Brees is getting inducted in his first year of eligibility. Fitzgerald showed some emotion just now during an interview on NBC when asked about his late father, who passed away earlier this year. 

Speaking of Pickett, he arrived at the stadium today donning a Luke Kuechly uniform. The best player in team history, Kuechly was a first-team All-Pro in five of his eight seasons. He was the best player on the 2015 Panthers team that went 15-1 during the regular season and ultimately advanced to Super Bowl 50. 

Kuechly is part of this year's Hall of Fame induction class. 

Pickett's number with the Panthers is 12, which was worn well in Carolina by Kerry Collins, a fellow QB who helped lead the franchise to an NFC title game appearance on its second year of existence. 

Along with Beck, tonight is a big one for his counterpart, Pickett, a former first-round pick. Pickett went 14-10 as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback, but he was traded to the Eagles ahead of the 2024 season after the Steelers signed Russell Wilson. 

Pickett spent the '24 season as Jalen Hurts' backup and took a few snaps during Philadelphia's Super Bowl win over the Chiefs. He was then traded to the Browns before being dealt to the Raiders. He then signed with the Panthers this season and will serve as Bryce Young's backup. 

One knock on Pickett has been his lack of arm strength that could be a byproduct of his famously small hands that became a talking point during the 2022 NFL Combine. Pickett does have athleticism and accuracy on his side. 

Welcome to our coverage of the first NFL game of the 2026 season! Per usual, the 2026 season will kick off with the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. 

The Cardinals actually got in town early enough where they were able to tour the halls of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Five new players will be enshrined this weekend that includes two first ballot inductees in Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald. 

For the Cardinals, Jeremiyah Love won't play, but rookie quarterback Carson Beck will make his NFL debut tonight. Beck had a stellar season last year at Miami. He threw 30 touchdowns, completed a whopping 72.4% of his passes and nearly led the Hurricanes to their first national title in 24 years.