Patrick Mahomes leads the Chiefs on game-winning drive to stave off the Panthers in Bryce Young’s best game as a pro.

It took a game-winning drive from Patrick Mahomes to get past Bryce Young and the Panthers, but the Kansas City Chiefs left North Carolina with a win on Sunday afternoon.

The Chiefs rallied in the final two minutes to pick up a 30-27 victory at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Sunday. Spencer Shrader, filling in for the injured Harrison Butker, kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired to give them the narrow victory. It pushed the Chiefs to 10-1 on the season and bounced back after dropping the first game of the year last week in Buffalo.

Although they did not win, the performance was easily the best of the season, if not his career, for Young. He was benched earlier this season after leading the team to an 0-2 start, but he regained the starting job after veteran backup Andy Dalton injured his thumb in a car accident last month. Young went 21-of-35 for 262 yards and a touchdown in the win, keeping them in it late against one of the best teams in the league.

It is just the second time this season that he has surpassed 200 passing yards in a single game, and it marked the second-highest mark of his career. Young’s career high came last December when he threw for 312 yards in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The Chiefs, who were one step ahead almost all day, seemed to cruise to victory late in the fourth quarter. But a brutal pass interference call on safety Chamarri Conner, who ran into Adam Thielen in the end zone, set the Panthers up at the goal line.

From there, Chuba Hubbard ran in an easy 1-yard touchdown to bring the Panthers back within two points.

The Panthers got two looks on the two-point conversion after another pass interference call on first down. Hubbard also knocked one in, tying the game and erasing an 11-point deficit.

But as he has done many times before, Mahomes quickly put the Chiefs in scoring position. After a couple of quick passes, he broke off a huge 33-yard run to suddenly put Kansas City in field goal range. That set up Shrader’s final field goal and won the game for the Chiefs.

The Panthers’ offense struggled to do much of anything in the first half, and they entered the locker room at halftime with just nine points behind three field goals by Eddy Pineiro. The Chiefs jumped out to an 11-point halftime lead after Mahomes hit Noah Gray for a pair of touchdowns — first a 35-yard toss on their opening drive of the game and then an 11-yard reception late in the second quarter.

But Young led the Panthers on two critical touchdown drives in the second half, including one immediately in the third quarter. That drive, a 15-play, 70-yard effort, ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass to David Moore.

Mahomes went 27-of-37 for 269 yards with three touchdowns in the victory for the Chiefs. He had 60 yards on five carries on the ground as well, just shy of Kareem Hunt’s 68 rushing yards. Gray finished with 66 yards and two scores on just four catches.

While Young didn’t end up winning for the Panthers, Sunday’s showing was still incredibly impressive for the former Alabama standout and Heisman Trophy winner. After losing his job just a few weeks ago, the Panthers now have reason to stick with Young to once again see if the No. 1 in 2023 is part of their future.

Whether he can keep it going in next week’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders and the rest of the season remains to be seen.