Football Is Back. Almost.

I went to bed with NFL GamePass playing on my bedroom TV last night. 

 

It has been months since I've been able to write the previous sentence. Football is back. Almost.

Last night saw the NFL host its annual Hall of Fame game. I caught the first few plays of what turned out to be the Carolina Panthers' 33-30 win over the Arizona Cardinals. 

I've seen the closing moments of the match as well. Quite a fun ending, to be fair. The Panthers' third string-quarterback, Haynes King, ran in a touchdown on 3rd and Goal as the clock hit zero.

Let's hope we get denouements like that all the way through September to February. 

Who is Haynes King?

Haynes King was signed by the Carolina Panthers, as an undrafted free agent, earlier this year. He currently sits behind Bryce Young and Kenny Pickett on  the team's quarterback depth chart.

King began his college career at Texas A&M in 2020 before transferring to Georgia Tech a couple of years later.

What's next for the NFL's 2026 preseason?

The Hall of Fame game was the first fixture of the NFL's preseason schedule for 2026. The full preseason schedule will heat up from Thursday 13th August. 

When does the 2026 NFL regular season begin?

The first regular season game of the 2026 NFL season will see the defending Super Bowl Champs - the Seattle Seahawks - greet the New England Patriots on Wednesday 9th September.

Season kick offs traditionally occur on Thursday nights. For this year, the game has been brought forward by a day because the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams are set to meet in the first-ever NFL fixture from Australia on Friday 11th September (due to time zone differences, the kick off will air on Thursday in the USA).