Four takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs’ 30-27 win over the Carolina Panthers

Another Sunday, another Kansas City Chiefs game that contained just about everything.

After taking a commanding halftime lead against the Carolina Panthers, the defending Super Bowl champions held onto their advantage for a while, but eventually blew it late Sunday afternoon. Thanks to some heroics from quarterback Patrick Mahomes on their final drive, Kansas City did enough to come away with a nail-biting triumph in Week 12. It’s a 30-27 score for Andy Reid’s team.

With that in mind, here are four takeaways from Sunday’s game.

With so many wide receiver injuries taking place this season, the Chiefs desperately need healthy and available players to step up elsewhere. While the ground game plays a big role in that, the tight space also leans more. Fourth-year man Noah Gray entered Sunday as the club’s no. 4-player in targets, receptions and receiving yards. Coming off his first career two-touchdown effort in Week 11, the former fifth-round pick rose to the occasion once again.

In the first half alone against Carolina, Gray caught four passes for a team-high 66 yards. He also took advantage of a pair of touchdowns, setting a new career high mark and subsequently raising it before the break. Mahomes explained this week that Gray will “do whatever it takes to win,” and that includes making significant progress after a contract extension. Gray is outperforming his salary in a significant way right now. These last two games are perfect examples of that.

Don’t get it twisted: Kansas City’s offense averaged 6.7 yards per carry. game in the opening half, and Steve Spagnuolo’s defense surrendered just nine points. The Chiefs brought a well-deserved edge into the locker room, so their shortcomings didn’t jeopardize the game at that point. That said, mental errors and lack of discipline prevented things from going out of hand in favor of the road team. Head coach Reid pointed out the mishaps during his in-game interview; it’s hard to disagree with him.

The Chiefs were penalized four times in the first half, accounting for 31 yards in the process. On their second drive, left tackle Wanya Morris’ fumble tied what would have been a 20-yard gain. On the next possession, right guard Trey Smith and wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster backed up the punts in Carolina territory, forcing the flags to be thrown. Both of these series resulted in field goals. On defense, several players got lost in coverage en route to making plays for the Panthers, and corner Nazeeh Johnson had a foul holding penalty. The 11-point halftime lead seemed like plenty, but it probably should have been even more.

Narratives surrounding Kansas City’s offense and defense have been constructed with performances in recent weeks. On the former side, Mahomes threw three touchdowns in two of his last three outings and had two combined interceptions in those games. The football world has been waiting a long time for a vintage performance from him, and on Sunday he may have delivered just that. The two-time NFL MVP completed 27 passes for 269 yards and a trio of touchdowns in Week 12, mixing in a mix of tough throws and some critical rushing. Mahomes looked as comfortable and confident as ever against Carolina, which is a good thing for Kansas City’s offense, even when factoring in their competition.

Speaking of taking into account the competition, this week Kansas City Chiefs on SI the game preview shed plenty of light on how bad the Panthers’ offense has been. Even during the club’s two-game hitting streak, Bryce Young went from unplayable to below average, and his weapon is nothing to write home about. Despite that, the former no. 1 overall pick perhaps the best outing of the year, and wideout David Moore had tremendous success. A Chiefs defense that has been vulnerable in recent games is suddenly looking more and more like a solid-to-good unit rather than an elite comparable to last year’s group. That stems directly from poor secondary play without Jaylen Watson. It can still win games – it barely did on Sunday – but it leaves less room for margin on the attack.

After a tough loss in Week 11, many expected Kansas City to respond and return to their winning ways on Sunday. That’s exactly what they did (with some drama along the way), and this win secured another double-digit win season for Reid and company. That makes it 10 in a row dating back to 2015, which now ties for the best streak in league history. Only the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers (17 and 16, respectively) have more consecutive years of such success. Don’t take what the Chiefs do for granted: it is far from normal.

Next up for the Chiefs is a short week when the Las Vegas Raiders come to town. The reigning champions have limited time to prepare for a Black Friday contest against a division rival, but thanks to a win on Sunday, their momentum in the AFC is maintained. Should running back Isiah Pacheco and defensive end Charles Omenihu return for that game, it would be a big boost in time for an AFC West matchup right after Thanksgiving.

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