Grading Panthers’ near-upset of Chiefs: Carolina loses close one but plays up to competition
While Patrick Mahomes is known for his arm, the two-time NFL MVP’s legs were what ultimately sealed the Carolina Panthers’ fate Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. Mahomes, with less than a minute remaining in a tie game in uptown Charlotte, scampered down the field for a 32-yard gain that ultimately set up a winning 31-yard field goal by fill-in Kansas City Chiefs kicker Spencer Shrader.
So, the Kansas City wagon (10-1) kept on churning with a 30-27 win on the road against a Panthers team that is starting show signs of serious potential, despite its 3-8 record.
While Panthers second-year QB Bryce Young got off to an excellent start, Carolina failed to punch in touchdowns during its first three scoring drives. Trading field goals for touchdowns with the Chiefs put the Panthers behind early, and while Carolina’s playmakers tried to make up ground — including tying the game on the offense’s final series — it just wasn’t enough to upset the defending two-time Super Bowl champions.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid leaned on his superstar QB in the passing game before running down the throats of the Panthers’ defenders. That turned out to be a sound strategy, as the Chiefs defense’s bend-but-don’t-break outlook kept the lead intact.
Kansas City was favored by a mile, but it was actually nice to see the offense — especially Young — battle against a juggernaut. While it wasn’t enough to get the win, Young and the offense showed enough upside to feel good about next week’s clash with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a similar setting.
Here is how the Panthers graded out in the loss to the Chiefs:
Bryce Young, Panthers’ pass offense vs. Chiefs
The Panthers came into Sunday’s matchup averaging 170.7 passing yards per contest, which was the second-worst output in the league entering Week 12. The Chiefs, conversely, were allowing 212.2 passing yards per game, which was slated as the 16th spot in the NFL.
Young started the game by going to the air early and often. He tossed an 8-yard pass to Adam Thielen, a 15-yard strike to David Moore and a perfectly placed 34-yard floater to Xavier Legette within the first four plays of the game. Young completed his first four passes of the game on the way to the red zone, but couldn’t overcome a false start penalty by center Cade Mays within the 10-yard line.
Young continued to work the passing game on the second series, as he hit a wide-open Thielen for a 36-yard catch-and-run play. He also connected with wideout Deven Thompkins for a 12-yard gain to get the Panthers in the red zone. While he failed to connect with anyone in the end zone, Young did lead a second consecutive field-goal scoring drive to begin the game.
Young completed six of his first 10 passes for 107 yards and produced two scoring drives. With 14:42 left in the first half, he’d already eclipsed everything he did in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers, a performance that led to his polarizing benching in Week 3.
Young couldn’t keep the momentum going on the third series, as he was sacked on second down by Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna. While he made a quick pass to rookie tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders, the Panthers had a quick three-and-out while down seven points in the middle of the second quarter.
Young and the offense got the ball back with 44 seconds left in the first half. Sanders, the rookie tight end, made a phenomenal catch toward the sideline for a 28-yard gain to get the ball in Chiefs territory. Sanders later gained 11 yards on a completion to get Carolina to the 11-yard line, but the playmaker was injured on the play with 20 seconds to spare. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they couldn’t reach pay dirt.
Young finished the first half with 177 passing yards on a 55.6% completion percentage. Young had an 89.4 passer rating and was sacked just once. Young had at least two passes legitimately dropped in the first two quarters. He led three first-half scoring drives.
Young began the second half with a cluster of big passing plays to Legette and Moore. He completed four passes to Moore and Legette for 44 total yards to get the Panthers in scoring position to begin the third quarter. He finished the drive with a 1-yard toss to Moore in the end zone for a touchdown.
Young continued to chip away into the fourth quarter. While he failed to re-live the touchdown success, he did lead his fifth scoring drive of the game, as a field goal cut the Chiefs’ fourth-quarter lead to eight points.
While the defense came up big (finally) in the fourth quarter, Young and the offense failed to reward that good look with points. A three-and-out was capped by a scramble drill for an incompletion.
Young got one more chance to tie the game with less than 3:30 left. While Carolina started off near midfield, a deep strike down the left sideline was dropped by Legette. Young went back to Legette for a 6-yard gain, before hitting Thielen for a fourth-down conversion with 1:55 remaining in the matchup.
Thielen, following the two-minute warning, then drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone, setting the ball up at the Kansas City 1-yard line. That led to a Hubbard rushing score on the very next play.
Young completed 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t turn the ball over, despite an early fumble that was recovered by Carolina. Sacked just twice, Young had a 92.8 passer rating.
Moore caught six passes for 80 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets. Thielen collected three passes for 57 yards in his first game back from a hamstring injury that cost him six weeks on the sideline.
Grade: B
Jonathon Brooks, Carolina run offense vs. Kansas City
Carolina averaged 110 rushing yards in its first 10 games, which was good for 24th in the league. However, the Chiefs were only allowing 85.3 rushing yards per contest, which ranked third in the the NFL entering Week 12.
With Kansas City doing so well against the run this season, the Panthers moved away from the ground game early. In fact, the Panthers’ running backs were limited to just three carries for 7 yards in the first half. Rookie running back Jonathon Brooks, appearing in his first NFL game, made his initial appearance on a three-and-out drive in the middle of the second and took one handoff for a 3-yard gain.
After a forgettable first half, the Panthers’ running game got going in the third quarter. Hubbard ran the ball seven times for 30 yards on the opening series of the third quarter.
Hubbard came up big late in the fourth quarter. He scored on a 1-yard tote to get the Panthers in position to tie the game with 1:46 left. He then tied the game with a comparable rush into the end zone.
Hubbard, for once, was something of an afterthought early on offense. He also had at least two drops in the passing game.
But the Panthers’ top offensive weapon finished with 59 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 carries to go along with a successful two-conversion rush. The entire offense produced 85 rushing yards on 22 totes, while Brooks, in his debut, contributed 7 rushing yards on two carries.
Grade: B-
D.J. Wonnum, Panthers’ pass defense vs. Chiefs
The Panthers’ defense surrendered 226.8 passing yards per game through its first 10 matchups, which was the 24th-ranked total in the NFL. The Chiefs, led by Mahomes, ranked 11th in the league entering Week 12 with 226.5 passing yards per game.
The three-time Super Bowl winner eclipsed both averages with ease Sunday.
On the first passing play of the game, Mahomes hit tight end Noah Gray for a 35-yard touchdown. Mahomes found Gray wide open around the 15-yard line due to a coverage bust and Gray had nothing but grass and the painted-black end zone in front of him for the score.
Mahomes was methodical throughout most of the first half, using his strong protection to his advantage. The two-time MVP made casual short throws with the lead, knowing he didn’t need to go for the home-run ball against a Panthers squad averaging 16.7 points per game. Mahomes led back-to-back scoring drives to start the game with the Chiefs making a chip-shot 25-yarder to cap an 11-play drive.
Mahomes continued leaning on the passing yards when he found breakdowns in coverage. He connected with tight end Travis Kelce on a 27-yard strike to push the Chiefs into the Panthers’ side of the field. But after a handful of back-and-forth penalties for both teams, pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney took Mahomes down for a sack and a 10-yard loss on third down. The Clowney takedown held Kansas City to a field goal on its third series.
While pass rusher D.J. Wonnum picked up his second sack in just six quarters, Mahomes kept the Chiefs churning down the field to end the first half. He completed a fourth consecutive scoring drive to end the second quarter, as the series was capped with another touchdown toss to Gray.
Mahomes finished the first half with 206 passing yards and two touchdowns on a 79.2% completion percentage. He had a 130.2 first-half passer rating and was sacked twice.
While Mahomes’ legs aided the first series of the third quarter, the talented QB continued to hurt the Panthers through air as well. He led a fifth consecutive scoring drive by completing a 3-yard touchdown pass to wideout DeAndre Hopkins.
The defense finally stopped the scoring streak midway through the fourth quarter. A holding penalty and a sack by cornerback Jaycee Horn, the first of his career, stopped Mahomes and the Chiefs in their tracks. The big drive by the defense kept the game at a one-score lead for Kansas City.
The Panthers’ defense was able to force a second punt with 3:31 left in the fourth quarter. On third-and-12, Wonnum forced Mahomes to step up due to pressure, and Clowney and defensive end DeShawn Williams converged on Mahomes with a shared sack to get the ball back for the offense.
Mahomes completed 27 of 37 passes (73%) for 269 yards and three touchdowns. He had a 120.3 passer rating and was sacked five times.
Gray contributed four catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns. Kelce added 62 yards on six receptions, and Hopkins had a touchdown and 35 receiving yards on five catches.
Grade: C+
Josey Jewell, Carolina run defense vs. Chiefs
The Panthers were giving up the most rushing yards per game (160.1) entering the matchup against the Chiefs. Kansas City produced 111.4 rushing yards per game, 23rd among the 32 teams in the NFL.
Surprisingly, the Chiefs didn’t run the ball all that much in the first half. Mahomes and running back Kareem Hunt combined for 10 carries for 47 yards in the first two quarters.
The running lanes probably would have been there, but the Chiefs didn’t bite until midway through the second quarter. The entire offense had 80 rushing yards on 14 totes in the first half.
Mahomes proved to be difficult to stop with his diving runs for first downs. The Chiefs also used Hunt as a battering ram on the Carolina side of the field to start the second half. Those short-but-sweet pickups ultimately led to another touchdown to begin the second half.
Mahomes’ 32-yard run on the final drive basically capped the contest.
Mahomes finished the game with 60 rushing yards on five carries. The entire Chiefs offense collected 165 rushing yards on 26 carries. The lack of over-the-top production was more because of a lean on the passing game than a talent output.
Grade: D
Eddy Piñeiro, Panthers’ special teams vs. Kansas City
Special teams got off to a poor start, as the coverage unit allowed a 56-yard kickoff to return to running back Samaje Perine to start the game. Three plays later, the Chiefs scored on a 35-yard passing touchdown.
The Panthers actually answered back with special teams, as kicker Eddy Piñeiro, who struggled with a knee injury during the week, notched a 30-yard make with 9:24 left in the first quarter. The kicker followed that up with a 32-yard make after the second series. He made the field-goal fun a hat trick with a 29-yarder to end the first half.
Piñeiro finished with four made field goals on as many attempts. None eclipsed 35 yards. Punter Johnny Hekker punted twice for an average of 51.5 per attempt.
Grade: B
Panthers’ overall game vs. Chiefs
Listen, the bar is low in Charlotte. But the Panthers played up to their competition for most of an inspiring afternoon for the plucky underdogs. Dave Canales called a strong game on offense, even while ignoring the run early, and Young was fantastic through large pockets of the matchup. The defense made some big stops late but ultimately tripped over itself late with its Achilles heel against the run.
This is a loss to build on — if that makes sense. The Panthers didn’t play like punks. Instead, they held their own against a Super Bowl favorite that will probably be playing in late January and beyond. Good for them.
Overall grade: B-
This story was originally published November 24, 2024 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Grading Panthers’ near-upset of Chiefs: Carolina loses close one but plays up to competition."
