The Hall of Fame game was Carson Beck’s first NFL test. The Arizona Cardinals quarterback got the opportunity to start in his first NFL game setting. The third-round rookie was up to the challenge, completing 15 of 19 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown.
“It’s the same thing I’m seeing in practice,” Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur told Arizona Sports’ Tyler Drake. “He just gets in and out of the huddle, and he doesn’t make it too big; he just lives by the play.”
LaFleur praised the way that offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and quarterbacks coach Matt Schaub helped prepare Beck for this game. He used the phrase “broken record” to describe what he saw in the game compared to what he sees in every practice from the rookie.
The Cardinals head coach likened the rookie quarterback’s outing to how his position coach approached the game. Schaub, at his peak, was a Pro Bowl-level passer, earning the honors in 2009 and 2012.
Beck enters the NFL with plenty of experience playing tough games at the collegiate level. The 24-year-old started for two seasons at the University of Georgia before transferring to Miami. He led the Hurricanes to the College Football Playoff Championship, coming up just a bit short.
Carson Beck Excels in NFL Preseason Debut
While this game doesn’t count towards the Cardinals‘ 2026 record, it still mattered for Carson Beck. It served as an opportunity for the coaching staff to evaluate how he led the offense, from the huddle and through the play.
“He worried about one play at a time and executing that play,” said LaFleur. “Going through your progressions, not making stuff up. If it’s not there, checking it down. If we’re in a bad play, a bad call, don’t make it worse.”
Beck executed some high-level throws in his NFL preseason debut. He tossed a perfect jump ball to Semi Fehoko for his first preseason touchdown pass. He also executed a deep ball to camp standout receiver Jalen Brooks for a 49-yard gain earlier in the drive.
There was another play in the drive that showed Beck’s maturity. It went in the box score as an incompletion, but LaFleur called it the right play in that moment.
“We called a keeper: where we fake left, kept right back,” said LaFleur. “There was eight guys in his face. I told him if the strong safety comes off the edge, just get some depth and get ready to ditch this.
“He was laughing at the time when he saw the strong safety. I wasn’t laughing because it was a crap call, but man, he saved us.”
Beck threw his touchdown pass on the very next play.
The rookie quarterback got five drives to lead the offense in the Hall of Fame game. Beck led the offense to two touchdowns and a field goal. One of those drives was a turnover on downs, but he layered a perfect throw between two defenders to Reggie Virgil, who dropped the pass after a hit from former Cardinal Isaiah Simmons.
The onus will now be on Beck to build off this performance. But the Cardinals certainly will feel better about their quarterback room after seeing the tape.
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