Arizona Cardinals show good offense, bad defense in preseason opener

If the Arizona Cardinals ' preseason opener is any indication of what the upcoming season is going be, fans could be in for a wild ride. They lost on Thursday in the Hall of Fame Game 33-30 to the Carolina Panthers , a track meet of a game.

The Cardinals had 425 yards of offense and, excluding a one-play kneeldown possession to end the first half, scored on six of their final seven possessions.

They rushed for 143 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per attempt, and passed for 294 yards and two touchdowns. They did not turn the ball over. They converted on 7 of 12 third-down attempts.

However, after forcing two punts defensively to start the game, the defense allowed the Panthers to score six times in their final seven possessions, including the game-winning touchdown as time expired.

The Panthers had 378 yards of offense. They converted on 9-of-14 third downs and on their one fourth-down attempt. The Cardinals allowed 141 rushing yards, and quarterback Haynes King threw two touchdown passes and rushed for the game-winner.

In the offseason, the Cardinals made significant investments on offense. They hired an offensive head coach in Mike LaFleur, signed guard Isaac Seumalo, tackle Elijah Wilkinson and running back Tyler Allgeier. Then they drafted running back Jeremiyah Love third overall. The hope is that the offense can be better and dangerous.

That could be the case, even though none of the Cardinals' starters played.

The defensive performance could be seen as something expected. They were one of the league's worst defenses and kept defensive coordinator Nick Rallis. They lost Calais Campbell and made no significant additions.

It would be understandable if the Cardinals ended up being a competent team offensively with an inept defense.

After the Cardinals lost 11 of their final 12 games, including their final nine games, six of which were by at least three scores, it is possible to be a team that wins very few games while being exciting offensively.

It is only the first preseason game, but this game very well might be an example of how Cardinals games will go in 2026.

If so, even if they lose a lot of games, at least it could be exciting.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify ,  YouTube  or  Apple Podcasts .

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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Arizona Cardinals show good offense, bad defense in preseason opener

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