The NFL regular season is still more than a month away, but the preseason begins Thursday night when the Carolina Panthers face the Arizona Cardinals at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET, with the game airing on NBC.
According to CBS Sports, Carolina is a 1.5-point favorite. The over/under for total points sits at 34.5, though different sportsbooks have listed it at 33.5 as well.
The Hall of Fame Game traditionally features teams connected to that weekend's inductees. This year, Carolina's connection is former linebacker Luke Kuechly, who is being enshrined at 35 years old. That makes him tied for the second-youngest player ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His career was cut short by injury. Arizona's tie to the weekend is receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who has the second-most receiving yards in NFL history at 17,492 and 121 receiving touchdowns. The other inductees this weekend include Drew Brees, Roger Craig, and Adam Vinatieri.
Few if any starters are expected to play. Kenny Pickett draws the start for Carolina. He carries a career regular-season passer rating of 78.2, but in nine preseason games he has completed 77 percent of his passes for six touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 116.7 passer rating. Pickett is locked in as the backup to Bryce Young and is expected to play only a couple of series before giving way to undrafted rookie Haynes King, a dual-threat quarterback out of Georgia Tech.
Arizona will start rookie Carson Beck. New head coach Mike LaFleur is making his debut on an NFL sideline after the Cardinals finished 4-13 in 2025. Carolina went 8-9 last season and made an unexpected postseason run by winning the NFC South. Head coach Dave Canales is 1-5 in the preseason over the past two seasons.
The Panthers have lost eight of their past nine exhibition games. Their only win during that stretch came in 2024 at Buffalo.
CBS Sports NFL expert R.J. White said he leans toward the over, pointing to recent scoring trends at the event.
"I'm a slight lean on the Over after the last four HOF Games made it to 37+ points," White told SportsLine. "But the highest scoring of the four only made it to 41 so we don't have much of a margin for error, particularly if the Panthers coaching staff is on autopilot."
The NFL regular season opener is scheduled for September 9 in Seattle, 34 days from Thursday's kickoff.
