King’s last-play rush lifts Panthers past Cardinals

Result: score + decisive sequence

Carolina Panthers 33, Arizona Cardinals 30: Haynes King scored on a five-yard rush as time expired to turn Arizona’s 30-27 lead into a three-point Carolina victory in the Hall of Fame Weekend preseason game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Source 1 Source 2

Arizona had taken that seven-point advantage with 1:55 remaining, when Kedon Slovis found Bryson Green for a one-yard touchdown and Chad Ryland added the extra point. Source 2 Carolina’s final response ended with King’s five-yard rushing touchdown at 0:00, completing a fourth quarter in which the Panthers scored 16 points to Arizona’s 10. Source 1 Source 2

The game had been level at 17-17 at half-time after six second-quarter scoring plays. Source 1 Source 2 Arizona then edged ahead through Ryland’s 43-yard third-quarter field goal, before Carolina moved in front early in the fourth on King’s five-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Tyus III. Source 2

Stat story

King completed 21 of 34 passes for 180 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, then added 39 yards and a touchdown on three rushing attempts. Source 3 His two scoring passes went to Ja’seem Reed from 15 yards in the second quarter and Tyus from five yards early in the fourth. Source 2 Source 3

Carolina’s scoring distribution kept the contest within reach after Arizona’s late touchdown. Source 2 Ryan Fitzgerald made both of his field-goal attempts, from 33 and 37 yards, and converted all three extra points for nine points. Source 2 Source 3

Arizona received efficient passing from both quarterbacks: Carson Beck went 15-for-19 for 188 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, while Slovis completed nine of 10 for 106 yards and a touchdown. Source 3 Their combined 294 passing yards supplied the bulk of Arizona’s offence, with Jalen Brooks producing 99 yards on three receptions. Source 3

The Cardinals also found points consistently from Ryland, who made all three field goals and all three extra points for 12 points. Source 3 Ryland’s field goals from 35, 43 and 35 yards helped Arizona build its sequence of 17-14, 20-17 and 23-24 scorelines before the late lead. Source 2

Stars and goats

King was the defining player, accounting for three Carolina touchdowns through two passing scores and the last-play rushing winner. Source 2 Source 3 Reed and Tyus each caught one of those touchdown passes, while AJ Dillon supplied Carolina’s other touchdown on a one-yard second-quarter rush. Source 2 Source 3

For Arizona, Beck’s 125.4 passer rating came with a five-yard touchdown pass to Simi Fehoko, while Slovis posted a 144.2 rating and delivered the go-ahead score to Green. Source 2 Source 3 Corey Kiner added Arizona’s opening touchdown on a one-yard rush and finished with 57 rushing yards on 14 carries. Source 2 Source 3

Arizona’s decisive disappointment was collective rather than reducible to a single recorded mistake: its final scoring play put the Cardinals ahead by seven, but the event log closes with King taking Carolina across the line on the next and final scoring play. Source 2

Standings impact

This was a finished preseason contest in the NFL’s Hall of Fame Weekend, rather than a regular-season fixture. Source 1 Carolina leaves Canton with the 33-30 result, while Arizona’s late 30-27 advantage was overturned on the final play. Source 1 Source 2