Football is officially back. The 2026 NFL preseason opened Thursday night in Canton, Ohio, and the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals delivered exactly the kind of sloppy, explosive, quarterback-driven shootout you expect from a Hall of Fame Game — a game that is somehow both meaningless in the standings and impossible to ignore. With the fourth quarter underway at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, the Panthers had grabbed their first lead of the night at 24-20, and the scoreboard had already produced six straight scoring possessions at one point in the first half. It was football again, in all its gloriously imperfect August glory, and it set the table for a Hall of Fame enshrinement weekend that will honor two of the greatest players in the history of these two franchises.
Why Canton? Kuechly and Fitzgerald's Big Weekend
The Hall of Fame Game is always built around the enshrinement class, and this year the matchup was tailor-made. The Panthers are in Canton in large part because franchise legend Luke Kuechly is going into the Hall of Fame, while the Cardinals are there to celebrate Larry Fitzgerald, one of the most productive wide receivers in NFL history. Both teams gave their legends a fitting sendoff: a nationally televised game featuring the rookies and veterans who will decide their respective futures. Carolina came into the night fresh off an 8-9 season that was somehow good enough to win the NFC South, followed by a heartbreaking 34-31 wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Arizona's 2025 was the opposite extreme — a 3-14 campaign that set a franchise record for losses and sent the franchise into a full-scale reset under center.
Kenny Pickett's Night: Solid, Not Spectacular
The Panthers won the toss, elected to receive, and gave everyone a first look at quarterback Kenny Pickett, the former Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns starter who signed with Carolina this offseason. The results were encouraging but unspectacular: 8 of 11 for 62 yards before giving way to rookie Haynes King. Pickett moved the offense early with a pair of completions to tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders, but a sack on third-and-2 ended Carolina's opening drive in a three-and-out. It was a quiet but steady debut — exactly the kind of preseason performance that won't win you a job in August, but won't lose you one either. The bigger story is that Pickett is in an open competition with former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, and every rep in games like this counts.
Carson Beck's Pro Debut Steals the Show
The most impressive quarterback on the field Thursday night wore a Cardinals uniform. Rookie Carson Beck, the Miami product Arizona drafted to be the face of its rebuild, looked every bit the part in his NFL debut. Beck finished 15 of 19 for 188 yards and a touchdown with a sparkling 125.4 passer rating before handing the game to Kedon Slovis. His night featured a 49-yard bomb to Jalen Brooks that set up a 5-yard touchdown strike to Simi Fehoko, capping what was already the third straight scoring drive of the half. On a night when the scoreboard was the star, Beck reminded everyone why Arizona was willing to bottom out for a franchise quarterback. The Cardinals' opening drive was a clinic too — 13 plays, 96 yards, finished off by a 1-yard Corey Kiner touchdown run.
A Back-and-Forth Shootout Breaks Out
The first half was pure preseason chaos, in the best way. After Kiner's score made it 7-0 Arizona, Carolina answered with a 10-play, 67-yard march capped by an A.J. Dillon 1-yard touchdown run to tie it at 7-7. Beck's strike to Fehoko put Arizona back on top 14-7, but Haynes King — the Georgia Tech rookie who took over for Pickett — immediately answered with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ja'seem Reed to tie it at 14-14. Chad Ryland's 35-yard field goal gave Arizona a 17-14 edge, and Ryan Fitzgerald answered with a 33-yard kick as time expired in the half, sending the teams to the locker room tied at 17-17. The third quarter was more of the same: Ryland's 43-yarder put Arizona up 20-17, and a 4-yard King touchdown pass to Anthony Tyus Jr. — capping a 10-play, 73-yard drive — finally gave Carolina its first lead at 24-20 with 14:20 remaining. Attendance was announced at 18,116, a reminder that even a "preseason" game in Canton draws a crowd that simply loves football.
Defense Showed Up Too
It wasn't all offense. Rookie cornerback Will Lee III, Carolina's fourth-round pick, made the defensive play of the opening quarter when he broke up a pass intended for Jalen Brooks on third-and-2 to force Arizona's first punt. Safety Isaiah Simmons knocked away a deep ball to Reggie Virgil on fourth-and-5 to turn the Cardinals over on downs with the game tied at 17. And Arizona cornerback Quinton Newsome forced a fumble of Panthers running back Anthony Tyus III that safety Isaiah Oliver recovered at Carolina's 48-yard line — a turnover that directly led to Ryland's go-ahead field goal. For a game that most teams treat as an extended scrimmage, the intensity on those snaps was real.
What It Means for Bettors
For anyone who follows the betting angles, the Hall of Fame Game is a reminder that preseason football is a different animal. Roster bubble players play their guts out for a job, starters play a series or two, and the game scripts swing wildly — Thursday night's first half alone featured six consecutive scoring possessions. Sharp bettors fade the noise, focus on quarterback competitions like the one brewing in Carolina between Pickett and Young, and treat the final score as mostly meaningless. The Panthers' preseason road continues at Buffalo on Aug. 15, at Jacksonville on Aug. 21, and home against Houston on Aug. 28. The Cardinals, meanwhile, will spend the rest of August building around Beck — and if Thursday night was any indication, they may have finally found their guy.
Ethan Brooks
Ethan Brooks covers sports betting and analysis with a focus on form, matchups, team trends, and the factors that shape competitive events.