CANTON, Ohio — It wasn’t necessarily the kind of game Luke Kuechly would have loved as a player: an offensive shootout with a couple of over-the-top plays surrendered by the Carolina Panthers defense.The good news is the Panthers won Thursday, kicking off Kuechly’s Hall of Fame weekend with a 33-30 victory over the Arizona Cardinals when rookie quarterback Haynes King walked it off with a 5-yard touchdown scramble as time expired at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.“That was a lot of fun!” Panthers coach Dave Canales exclaimed. “Haynes did a fantastic job just keeping the play alive, whatever he had to do — run it, throw it, doesn’t matter. Move the chains and keep it alive.”Top Plays from Panthers @ CardinalsThe Panthers defense made Cardinals rookie Carson Beck look like one of the quarterbacks whose bronze busts are displayed next door at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The former Georgia and Miami QB torched the second- and third-stringers in the secondary for a Dan Marino-like stat line: 15-of-19 for 188 yards and a touchdown, with a passer rating of 125.4.But King had the ball last and avenged an eight-overtime loss to Beck at Georgia in 2024 as Georgia Tech’s quarterback.A look at the winners and losers from the Panthers’ first exhibition game:Stock risingHaynes KingThe undrafted free agent replaced Kenny Pickett in the second quarter and proceeded to lead scoring drives on five of his six series. He was composed in the pocket, made plays with his feet and looked like a guy who’s going to be on a 53-man roster this year. It’ll be hard for Dan Morgan to try to stash King on the practice squad.“I’m very excited that I got this opportunity. I feel like I went out there and operated at a high level,” said King, who completed 21 of 34 passes for 180 yards and added 39 rushing yards. “And I feel like I affected a lot of people and allowed everybody around me to play better as well.”The J-vee receiversRookie Chris Brazzell’s season-ending knee injury opened the door for several of the Panthers’ other receivers, three of whom — whose first names happen to begin with J — had solid showings.Ja’seem Reed built on his promising training camp by scoring on a 15-yard touchdown pass from King in the first half and finishing with two receptions for 30 yards. Jimmy Horn Jr. had four catches for 44 yards, with a long of 17.John Metchie III pulled down three passes for 38 yards to go with a 36-yard kick return, which helped kick-start his night. “I think it helps momentum. I think it helps a bunch of things,” he said. “That one, it was just my first time running, so I got warm after that.”The backup safetiesLathan Ransom and Zakee Wheatley, who are competing for the No. 3 safety spot, helped themselves in Canton. “Our safeties showed up,” Canales said.Ransom, the former Ohio State standout, made big plays on defense and special teams. The fourth-round pick from 2025 downed a punt inside the 5-yard line in the second quarter when the Cardinals returner failed to field it. (There was a lot of that going around Thursday night.) Later in the first half, Ransom rocked Jalen Brooks after the Cardinals receiver had gotten behind Akayleb Evans (more on that in a bit).Wheatley, the rookie from Penn State, led all tacklers with eight stops and forced a fumble the Cardinals recovered.Stock fallingTrevin WallaceWallace didn’t necessarily play poorly. It’s the fact he played at all that could be viewed as a little disconcerting. Canales said any starter-level players in uniform are still battling for a starting job. That means Wallace, who started 20 games at inside linebacker his first two seasons, hasn’t secured the spot alongside Devin Lloyd.Call Thursday a draw between Wallace (three assisted tackles) and veteran Claudin Cherelus, who finished with four tackles (two solo, two assists).The backup cornersIt was a rough night for several of the cornerbacks vying for the reserve spots behind Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson, who were on the sidelines in street clothes. Rookie Will Lee, the fourth-round pick from Texas A&M who’s had a productive start to camp, endured an up-and-down first quarter: He had a nice pass breakup (for a long time, it was Beck’s only incompletion), was beaten on a double move by Brooks for a 35-yard reception, and bounced back to make a nifty open-field tackle.In the second quarter, the veteran Evans, who started opposite Lee, was whistled for an illegal contact penalty against Brooks. Evans didn’t hold him well enough, though: Brooks burned him on a stop-and-go for a 49-yard pickup.That was the big play on a drive Beck capped by feathering a 5-yard touchdown pass to Simi Fehoko, who beat Corey Thornton to the pylon.“We’ve gotta stay on top. You’ve gotta own the deep ball. We had to be there,” Canales said. “The safeties were in position. The corners gotta make plays out there on the perimeter, and everything else was pretty solid.”Trevor EtienneThe second-year running back/return specialist let the Cardinals’ first punt hit and roll, burying Pickett and the offense at their own 3-yard line for their second series. On the ensuing play, Etienne was dropped for a 2-yard loss. The Panthers escaped the poor starting position thanks to a pass interference penalty. Etienne (four carries, 12 yards) never got going in the run game, although there weren’t many holes when he was in the game.