The Kansas City Chiefs were heavy favorites going into today’s game against the Carolina Panthers. However, Carolina had other plans and made this one a nailbiter till the end. But, Kansas City managed to escape with their eighth win of the season after holding on to beat the Panthers 33-31.
First Half
Throughout the first half, Carolina looked like the better team. The Panthers defense dominated the time of possession early and kept the Chiefs offense off the field. The return of running back Christian McCaffrey proved fruitful as he hauled in a touchdown pass on the game’s first drive. McCaffrey also totaled 49 rushing yards through the first half. The Panthers also were able to convert on a fake punt setting up their second touchdown. Teddy Bridgewater started to find a groove as well, and the Panthers went into halftime with a 17-13 lead.
Kansas City struggled on offense early. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes wasn’t quite in sync with his weapons early. Thus, leading to the Chiefs having to settle for field goals on their first two drives. However, the offense found some life and put together a seven-play, 65-drive in the second quarter capped off by Mahomes finding Demarcus Robinson for the score. Robinson would finish the game with three receptions and 34 yards. Players like Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill were somewhat subdued throughout the first half as Carolina’s defense was able to keep the cap on both of them for the most part.
Second Half
Then the second half happened. The Chiefs got the ball first and stalled out. However, the Chiefs’ defense started to make clutch stops giving the offense more opportunities to score. Mahomes began to get in a rhythm with Kelce and Hill. Just a minute into the fourth quarter, the Chiefs had taken the lead 26-17. Kelce began to dominate with a pair of huge gains late in the game, helping to lead the Chiefs offense in receiving yards with 159. Hill broke free downfield for his first touchdown of the game and followed it up with a two-yard touchdown catch. Hill finished with nine receptions, 113 yards, two touchdowns, and 18 targets. Mahomes finished the day with 372 passing yards, and four touchdown passes.
Carolina had some chances late to potentially put this game away after some incredible catches from Curtis Samuel and McCaffrey. Samuel led the Panthers in receiving yards finishing with 105 and a touchdown catch. In contrast, McCaffrey finished with 151 yards from scrimmage and two total touchdowns. However, it wasn’t meant to be. The Chiefs defense, behind a handful of big plays from safety Daniel Sorensen, forced the Panthers to convert a 67-yard field goal. Kicker Joey Slye was unable to convert on the potential NFL-record kick, and the Chiefs breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
Highlights
Showtime to Honey Thunder for our first touchdown of the game 🙌#CARvsKC on FOX pic.twitter.com/KPtNkCjo50
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) November 8, 2020
The Chiefs pull some tricks out of the bag early for their first score of the game.
Best fake punt team in the NFL pic.twitter.com/NgOfnfdMMn
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 8, 2020
Carolina gets aggressive and converts on a fake punt attempt setting up a touchdown.
That’s TD pass No. 💯#CARvsKC on FOX pic.twitter.com/xhMVMna5Uv
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) November 8, 2020
Hill gets wide open downfield and hauls in the touchdown pass.
Moving forward, the Chiefs can continue to feel confident in that no matter what the scoreboard says, they are always within striking distance. However, health along the offensive line took another blow this week as tackle Mike Remmers sat out the majority of the second half with a rib injury. Remmers was filling in for the injured Mitchell Schwartz. The Chiefs are headed into a bye week and will have their rematch with the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11.
For the Panthers, it’s another tough loss. For the third straight week, the Panthers have lost by seven points or less and once again failed to convert on a potential game-winning drive. Defensively, the secondary still needs to take some steps forward as you won’t win many games when you’re giving up 30 or more points. However, offensive coordinator Joe Brady has many tools to work with on this offense. If they can get more consistent, they should continue to be competitive. The Panthers head to Tampa Bay next week to take on the Buccaneers.
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