Safe to say, it was an exciting start to the 2026 season.

In what might have been the most electric Hall of Fame Game opener in memory, the Panthers walked off in the late seconds of the game with a 33-30 win over the Cardinals when former Georgia Tech signal-caller Haynes King scrambled five yards into the end zone for the game-winner.

Two rookies stole the show in their pro debuts, and the usual anticipated chess match turned into a track meet for one night in Canton.

While King put the cherry on top—finishing 21-of-34 for 180 yards and two scores through the air, plus 39 rushing yards and that decisive TD—Miami’s Carson Beck was the first to turn heads.

The third-round pick checked every box in a crisp 15-for-19, 188-yard first-half performance. With Jacoby Brissett sidelined, Beck got the start and marched the Cardinals on three straight scoring drives, including a five-yard touchdown toss.

Beck gave way to Kedon Slovis, the former undrafted free agent now on his third team in three years. In three series, Slovis went a near-perfect 9-of-10 for 106 yards and the go-ahead strike to Bryson Green with 1:55 left.

On the other side, with Bryce Young out, Kenny Pickett opened as a Panther and did what Pickett does: short, high-percentage throws. He completed 8 of 11 for 62 yards while guiding a 10-play, 67-yard march capped by A.J. Dillon’s one-yard plunge.

Credit new Cardinals head coach and offensive play-caller Mike LaFleur for a successful debut. Arizona notched six scoring drives, three in the second quarter alone. The highlight: a crisp 96-yard march that faced just two third downs—and converted both.

That was a lot of football to open a season that usually plays more like a chess match than a track meet.

FYI: If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to download a free copy of the first of two season-opening Playbook Football Newsletters. You’re going to like what you see.

Before we move on to a full Week One of the NFL preseason, be sure to have a great weekend!

With each NFL team buried deep into summer training camps, let’s see where each team ranks at this time of the season, per Yahoo! Sports with each teams’ ranking appearing after its nickname...

AFC

East: Buffalo has knocked on the Super Bowl door for seven straight playoff seasons without kicking it down. New England needed only two years with Drake Maye to get there. Now Josh Allen and Maye square off with the division—and perhaps the entire AFC—hanging in the balance.

1. Bills (3)

2. Patriots (5)

3. Jets (31)

4. Dolphins (32)

North: The AFC North coaching carousel didn’t spin—it flew off its hinges. Mike McCarthy reunites with Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh, Jesse Minter replaces John Harbaugh in Baltimore, and Todd Monken takes over Cleveland. Cincinnati, meanwhile, still has Joe Burrow—and sometimes the best move is making none at all.

1. Ravens (7)

2. Bengals (17)

3. Steelers (20)

4. Browns (29)

South: Houston’s defense brings the hammer; now C.J. Stroud must bring the points. Jacksonville has to prove 13-4 wasn’t fool’s gold, Indianapolis is repairing a late-season collapse, and Tennessee needs Cam Ward to make the Year 2 leap. Answers are coming—and excuses are leaving.

1. Texans (10)

2. Jaguars (16)

3. Colts (21)

4. Titans (28)

West: Kansas City’s dynasty hit a pothole—and disappeared into it. Patrick Mahomes returns from a torn ACL after a stunning 6-11 crash, while Denver rolls in following a 14-3 season and the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The Chiefs still own the rings, but the Broncos are wearing the target.

1. Broncos (4)

2. Chiefs (12)

3. Chargers (14)

4. Raiders (27)

NFC

East: Dallas spent 2025 playing pinball—lighting up scoreboards while its defense rolled out a red carpet. New coordinator Christian Parker now inherits the cleanup detail. If he can supply even a speed bump, America’s Team could finally become more than America’s weekly highlight reel.

1. Cowboys (8)

2. Eagles (9)

3. Commanders (18)

4. Giants (25)

North: The NFL’s demolition division keeps swinging. Every team finished above .500 last season, and nobody enters this neighborhood without a hard hat. Detroit remains the bully on the block, but Chicago, Green Bay and Minnesota are all carrying crowbars.

1. Lions (8)

2. Bears (11)

3. Packers (15)

4. Vikings (19)

South: Somebody has to win it. The NFC South is the only division without a Top-20 team after all four clubs finished below .500. Tampa Bay sits atop the rubble, but in this neighborhood, “first place” comes with an asterisk—and a paper bag.

1. Buccaneers (22)

2. Panthers (23)

3. Saints (24)

4. Falcons (26)

West: Seattle owns the crown, but Los Angeles owns the headlines. The Rams have united the reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year—and Aaron Donald could still crash the party. The champs may have the trophy, but the Rams are loading the cannon.

1. Rams (1)

2. Seahawks (2)

3. 49ers (13)

4. Cardinals (30)

Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers may have found a second creative path around the salary cap, reports CBS Sports.

The alleged no-show endorsement deal Leonard held with Aspiration is still under active NBA investigation—and that probe continues to stall his trade to the Raptors. Now there may be more layers to the story.

According to investigative reporter Pablo Torre, Leonard also had a hidden multimillion-dollar arrangement with scoreboard manufacturer Daktronics, the company that built the videoboard for the Intuit Dome.

Torre alleges the Clippers used this sponsorship agreement as another vehicle to funnel extra money Leonard’s way.

If the first deal raised eyebrows, this one only adds to the questions. The league’s investigation is still ongoing, and the longer it drags, the longer any potential move to Toronto stays on ice.

Just sayin’.

Horse racing's Triple Crown may be dead in the water.

A new deal struck by Churchill Downs and New York Racing Association will feature a 6-race series beginning next year — and The Preakness isn't part of it.

Over the last few years, the concept of winning the Triple Crown has been fading among horse racing's stakeholders. On Monday, Churchill Downs Inc. and the New York Racing Association might have delivered its death blow.

A tried and true horse racing fan – Dan Wolken of Yahoo Sports – had this to say...

In announcing a joint partnership for a six-race series beginning in 2027 with a $5 million bonus attached to the end of it, one entity was notably missing: The Preakness.

The six races will cover the Kentucky Derby on May 2; the Belmont Stakes on June 5; back to Churchill for the Matt Winn stakes in early July; the Jim Dandy and Travers Stakes at Saratoga in late July/August; and then a newly created race to finish the series at Churchill in September.

As for the Preakness, the second jewel of the Triple Crown? Well, it still exists, but the traditional timing of the race — two weeks after the Kentucky Derby — has become incompatible with the way modern trainers manage their thoroughbreds. Golden Tempo and Sovereignty, the last two Derby winners, both skipped the Preakness, as did Rich Strike in 2022.

Sources told Yahoo Sports that the Maryland Jockey Club was close to announcing a move that would have pushed the Preakness to three weeks after the Kentucky Derby. But Monday's announcement — which leaves the Belmont in its traditional placement five weeks after the Derby — suggests the coordination among Triple Crown stakeholders was only a two-way conversation with Maryland being frozen out.

As one industry source told Yahoo Sports: "The bigger picture here is the wider future of the sport, and Maryland just ain't it. You could still run in the Preakness and win the series, but Maryland is on an island. They're by themselves. They run one big race a year. We can't let these traditional elements of the sport be anchors for its future, and you can argue we've let it go on for too long."

Read the full story.

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