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| Carolina wide receiver and return man John Metchie III returns a punt early in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
Canton, Ohio – The NFL preseason has officially begun with the Arizona Cardinals facing off against the Carolina Panthers in the 2026 Hall of Fame Game, sponsored by Novartis.
This will be the Cardinals' sixth time in the annual game; this will be the Panthers' second time since the franchise began in 1995.
In the first drive in front of 18,116 spectators, the Panthers win the annual coin toss; they go four and out after they couldn't complete the first down, with Kenny Pickett getting to open the starting drive.
“The first drive was just a couple of missed opportunities in the pass game; we really weren't establishing the run game until about the third drive,” said Calanes.
Carson Beck, the Georgia Bulldog alum, gets the start for the Cardinals after a scramble from the two-year quarterback; they also have to punt.
With 9:09 left in the first quarter, both offenses have had difficulty advancing the ball, accumulating a combined total of just 12 yards of offense.
Back into their territory, the Cardinals are relying on the ground game; the biggest play of the game was from Beck to Jalen Brooks for 35 yards to get them in a position to cross midfield with six minutes remaining in the quarter.
Beck’s drive led them to the 1-yard line before the first quarter ended with a 0-0 tie.
2nd Quarter
Beck completes the drive on a Corey Kiner 2-yard touchdown with 14:55 left in the half on 13 plays for 96 yards, taking over seven minutes to score.
On the ensuing drive, the Panthers would drive the ball downfield, surprisingly also moving the ball on the ground and in the air, on the Cardinal 1-yard line, AJ Dillion scores to tie the game up 7-7 on ten plays and 67 yards with 10:56 left.
Beck has completed eight of nine attempts for 80 yards at this point in the game.
After an Akayleb Evans defensive penalty, Beck and company begin their drive on the 5-yard line with 9:42 remaining. This led to a Beck-to-Simi Fehoko 5-yard passing touchdown with 9:38 remaining in the half.
Hayes King, after coming into the game, drives the 10 plays for 65 yards for the Panthers with 3:44 taken off the clock.
At the half it game is tied 17-17.
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| Carson Beck (with ball) prepares to hand off the ball. Beck finished the game completing 15 of 19 passes for 188 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
Carson Beck starts the third quarter of the game and then exits for the backup, Kedon Slovis.
Tyus fumbles the ball with 9:41 left in the quarter; the fumble was recovered by Isaiah Oliver to start the drive for Kedon Slovis, the University of Southern California kid, in his second year in the league.
His drive led to a 43-yard field goal by Chad Ryland, which gave the Panthers a 20-17 lead with 4:42 remaining in the preseason opener.
At the end of the third quarter, the Panthers led by three, 20-17.
Hayes King completes a ten-play drive for 73 yards, finding Anthony Tyus in the end zone to take a 24-20 lead following Chad Ryland's 3-yard field goal for the Cardinals.
With 10:19 remaining, Chad Ryland successfully kicks a 35-yard field goal, marking his third of the evening, but his team still trails 24-23.
37-yard kick from Ryan Fitzgerald to extend the Carolina lead to 27-23 on a 7-play, 51-yard drive with 6:53 remaining in the game.
By the end of the game, the Panthers began to take control and momentum.
Chad Ryland, the impressive kicker, successfully made another field goal from 61 yards, bringing the score to 27-23 and taking the lead.
The Cardinals would answer, going ten plays for 62 yards and the lead, 30-27.
The thrill continued as Hayes King propelled the ball down the field for 65 yards, resulting in a 1-yard touchdown that sealed the game, giving them a 33-30 advantage with just 1:55 remaining in regulation.
Carolina (1-0) will go on the road for week two of the preseason against the Buffalo Bills, while the Cardinals (0-1) will face the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on a Thursday night.
This post was presented to you by The Ross Real Estate Group-KW Legacy Group, Grip Spritz Grip Spray, and Kingdom Takeover.
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