Carson Beck Impresses in NFL Debut, but Panthers Rally to Beat Cardinals 33-30
Carson Beck’s first pass as a pro didn’t make history the way some hoped it might. But it didn’t matter much once the Arizona Cardinals rookie started slinging it around Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Thursday night.
Beck went 11-of-14 for 148 yards and a touchdown across roughly two and a half quarters of work, headlining a back-and-forth Hall of Fame Game that Carolina ultimately stole in the final seconds. Rookie quarterback Haynes King scored on a 5-yard touchdown run with no time left on the clock, lifting the Panthers to a 33-30 win and kicking off the 2026 NFL preseason in Canton, Ohio.
The pregame storyline had centered on a quirk of scheduling: Beck’s last pass at Miami was an interception that sealed a 27-21 loss to Indiana in the College Football Playoff National Championship, and some wondered whether the Cardinals rookie might turn around and throw the very first pass of the following NFL season if Arizona got the ball first. ClutchPoints detailed the angle ahead of kickoff, noting that Tennessee coach Josh Heupel and former LSU quarterback Matt Mauck had both appeared in Hall of Fame Games after winning national titles, though neither started.
It didn’t play out that way. Carolina received the opening kickoff, and Arizona’s defense took the field first, according to CBS Sports’ live coverage of the game. Beck would have to wait for his moment.
He didn’t wait long to make it count. Beck settled in and controlled most of the first half, working through Arizona’s rotation of skill players under new head coach Mike LaFleur, who was making his own Cardinals coaching debut. By the time backup Kedon Slovis took over in the third quarter, Beck had turned in the best statistical night of any quarterback on the field — completing better than 78 percent of his throws and connecting for a touchdown.
How the Fourth Quarter Slipped Away From Arizona
Slovis nearly delivered the win himself. He found receiver Bryson Green sliding into the right corner of the end zone for what was initially ruled an incomplete pass, only for a booth review to overturn the call and put Arizona back in front with 1:55 left, per Yahoo Sports’ recap of the game.
Carolina had other plans. King, an undrafted rookie who took over for Kenny Pickett in the second half, drove the Panthers 50 yards in about 90 seconds and capped it with the game-winning score as time expired. There’s no overtime in the Hall of Fame Game, so King’s touchdown ended it on the spot.
| Player | Team | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Carson Beck | Cardinals | 11-14, 148 yds, 1 TD |
| Haynes King | Panthers | 11-17, 94 yds, 1 TD |
| Bam Knight | Cardinals | 11 carries, 56 yds |
| AJ Dillon | Panthers | 3 carries, 18 yds |
Arizona’s night carried some extra weight beyond the box score. The Cardinals are less than a year removed from a 3-14 season that got Jonathan Gannon fired and pushed the franchise to move on from longtime starter Kyler Murray, who signed with Minnesota this offseason. Jacoby Brissett now holds the starting job entering the regular season, with Beck, this year’s third-round pick out of Miami, ticketed for a developmental role behind him — at least for now.
None of that dampened what LaFleur and the coaching staff saw from their rookie Thursday. Beck moved the offense efficiently, avoided turnovers, and connected on the kind of intermediate throws that scouts flagged as his strength coming out of college. It’s one preseason half against backups, and nobody in Arizona is pretending otherwise. But for a player whose final college snap ended in tears on his home field, a clean, mistake-free NFL debut was exactly the kind of first step the Cardinals were hoping for.
Both teams rested their regular starters. Bryce Young didn’t play for Carolina, and Brissett stayed on the sideline for Arizona, leaving the night to the rookies and roster hopefuls fighting for a spot before final cuts.
