Undrafted rookie quarterback Haynes King scored on a five-yard run on the final play of the game, lifting the Carolina Panthers past the Arizona Cardinals 33-30 in the 2026 Hall of Fame Game on Thursday night in Canton, Ohio.

The NFL preseason opener had a little bit of everything: a fourth-quarter lead change, a three-touchdown performance from a player who went undrafted, and a walk-off score that left zero time on the clock. King finished 21 of 34 for 180 yards and two touchdowns through the air, plus 39 rushing yards and the winning trip to the end zone. Not bad for a quarterback expected to sit third on the depth chart behind starter Bryce Young and veteran Kenny Pickett. The Guardian

King, the reigning ACC Player of the Year out of Georgia Tech, took over after Pickett went 8 of 11 for 62 yards in a brief opening stint. Neither team played its starters, which is standard for the Hall of Fame Game — the league's annual kickoff exhibition in Canton, where a new enshrinement class is celebrated the same weekend. The 2026 class is a heavyweight group: quarterback Drew Brees, running back Roger Craig, kicker Adam Vinatieri, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, and linebacker Luke Kuechly.

Arizona had its own rookie quarterback turning heads. Carson Beck, the Cardinals' third-round pick from Miami, completed 15 of 19 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown in his preseason debut. Beck led the Hurricanes to last season's national championship game, a loss to Fernando Mendoza and Indiana. Against Carolina, he showed the same poise that made him a household name in college — accurate, decisive, and comfortable running an NFL huddle.

The Cardinals appeared to have won it when quarterback Kedon Slovis found Bryson Green on a one-yard touchdown pass with 1:55 remaining for a 30-27 lead. But King engineered the final drive, and with the clock expiring, he tucked the ball and crossed the goal line to win it.

Arizona was without running back Jeremiyah Love, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 draft, who sat out. The Cardinals are now led by rookie head coach Mike LaFleur, with veteran Jacoby Brissett as the starting quarterback and Gardner Minshew as his backup. Carolina, meanwhile, is coming off an NFC South title at 8-9 last season and a wild-card loss to the Rams. The Guardian

Off the field, former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin made his first appearance with the NBC broadcast crew after 19 seasons in Pittsburgh. His sideline-to-booth transition adds another layer of intrigue to a broadcast already thick with storylines.

For fans, this is the appetizer. The Hall of Fame Game rarely tells us who's good in December — the starters barely played, and the scheme was vanilla. But King's finish is the kind of moment that earns a roster spot. A quarterback who went undrafted, in his first professional game, scoring on the last play? That's a story that writes itself, and it's exactly the energy football fans have been waiting for since February.