The long national nightmare is finally over, Seattle! NFL action is back tonight with the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. It’s the Carolina Panthers “at” the Arizona Cardinals kicking off at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, and if you’re looking to throw down a few bucks, you need to know this: Carolina has been an absolutely terrible preseason bet over the past three years. This isn’t just a hunch; it’s a cold, hard fact.
Legends Take the Stage, But Starters Won’t Play Much
While we’re all fired up to see football again, let’s be real: few, if any, starters on either side will actually play tonight. The NFL picks these teams because they have players being enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame over the weekend, and this year’s class is stacked. For Carolina, it’s former linebacker Luke Kuechly, who was an NFL Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. His career got cut short by injury, and at 35 years old, he’ll be tied as the second-youngest enshrined. Over on the Arizona side, they’ve got legendary receiver Larry Fitzgerald heading in, a guy who stacked up the second-most receiving yards in NFL history with 17,492 and the sixth-most receiving touchdowns at 121. And let’s not forget the other legends joining them: Drew Brees, Roger Craig, and Adam Vinatieri. What a class!
Kenny Pickett’s Preseason Numbers Are Wild, But Don’t Get Fooled
So, with starters mostly on the sideline, who ARE we watching? For Carolina, Kenny Pickett is getting the call under center. Now, this is where it gets interesting. Pickett’s an established veteran, sure, but he’s also a former first-round bust, a regular-season bust even, holding a career passer rating of just 78.2. That number would have ranked him 35th in the NFL last season, behind guys like Jameis Winston and Davis Mills, even after he got into six games with the Raiders. Yikes. BUT. His preseason career is a totally different story! In nine exhibition games, he’s completed a ridiculous 77% of his passes for six touchdowns with ZERO interceptions, rocking a 116.7 passer rating. That number? It would have LED the entire NFL in the 2025 regular season. Crazy, right? He’s locked in as the backup to Bryce Young and only expected to play a couple of series tonight, so don’t expect a full Pickett preseason masterclass. The Panthers are 1.5-point favorites tonight with the Over/Under at 35.5 total points, but remember that ‘terrible preseason bet’ trend.
It’s a taste of football, but for us here in the Emerald City, the real countdown is on! We’re just 34 days away from the regular-season opener from Seattle on September 9th, a Wednesday this year instead of the usual Thursday kick-off. That’s our date, 12s. Until then, enjoy the Hall of Fame festivities and maybe keep that betting trend for Carolina in mind if you’re watching tonight. Go Hawks!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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