The Kansas City Chiefs pushed their record to 10-1 after speaking out a 30-27 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon, putting their loss to the Buffalo Bills behind them as they continue their journey eyeing their third straight Super Bowl win. While it took some “Mahomes magic” to make it happen, the Kansas City Chiefs drove down the field with less than two minutes remaining to pull out a 30-27 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Here are some things we learned about the Chiefs thus far this season after that performance.
The Kansas City Chiefs Pass Rush Isn’t Playing Well Enough
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense is predicted to use traditional pass rushers and blitzes to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks. But in the last two matchups, the defense’s efforts have been for nothing. In those two games, the Kansas City Chiefs have only accumulated two sacks neither of which were by top pass rushers like Chris Jones or George Karlaftis. It’s been almost a month since Karlaftis recorded his last sack, which was during the Chief’s victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, and Chirs Jones hasn’t brought down a quarterback since the week 4 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Chris Jones is still able to generate pressure at one of the league’s highest rates. But at some point, Kansas City must find a way to convert pass-rush wins into negative yards for the opposing offense. On Sunday, Carolina’s quarterback Bryce Young looked way too comfortable in the pocket. He showed little fear of the Chiefs’ defense and had an answer for every Steve Spagnuolo Blitz that he drew up. Instead of trying to fool the opposing quarterback they need to put them on the ground, which requires winning the matchups up front.
Kansas City Chiefs Need To Stop Shooting Themselves In The Foot Via Penalties
During their last four games, Kansas City has drawn 30 penalties for 234 yards including 10 flags on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. It’s hard to sustain drives if you’re giving the opposing team an advantage due to poor technique or mental lapses. Sunday’s most concerning penalties came in the red zone. At one point, the Chiefs went from knocking on the door facing a third-and-25. The penalties in the end zone were even more horrific. One gave Carolina a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Two others gave the Panthers another chance at a failed two-point conversion.
By themselves, those two flags made it possible for the Panthers to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Because the Chiefs were playing the Carolina Panthers, the Chiefs had a huge margin for error. These mistakes almost cost them the game against arguably the worst team in the league which would have been a bad look after the Buffalo Bills loss a week prior.
READ MORE: Kansas City Chiefs catch a massive break before Raiders game
The Positives Of Sunday’s Game Against The Carolina Panthers
The good news of Sunday’s game was Noah Gray looking like a complete touchdown machine, with four touchdowns in the last two games, Gray has suddenly become one of the league’s biggest red zone threats. If defenses continue to lock up Travis Kelce when the Chiefs are close to the goal line, just expect Kansas City to depend on Gray even more often. The 25-year-old tight end is primed and ready for a breakout.
Another star of Sunday’s game was rookie kicker Spencer Shrader who Kansas City depended on with the game on the line to kick the game-winning field goal. And the TerminShrader delivered nailing his first game-deciding kick in a Chiefs uniform, striking the ball cleanly, the ball exploded off Shrader’s foot cleanly splitting the uprights. While the rookie made it look easy, we can’t overestimate how difficult it is for a young player to perform in these kinds of situations. to keep up with everything going on around the NFL go to GridIronHeroics.com and follow me on X(Twitter)@Crain_Sports1.
