The Carolina Panthers are rested and ready for a challenge as they face the Kansas City Chiefs, with Patrick Mahomes making his first visit to Charlotte this Sunday afternoon.
The Panthers (3-7) have won their last two games and are coming off a bye week.
The Chiefs (9-1), after losing to Buffalo last weekend, no longer have a winning streak, marking the first time since January that they haven’t won in a row. Despite the loss, they share the best record in the NFL with the Detroit Lions.
Following their rare loss, the Chiefs are likely to pay closer attention to the details in their game.
“Try to use this as a spark so that we can be a better football team in the end,” Mahomes said about the loss to the Bills.
Mahomes mentioned that the team is keeping things in perspective after their first loss since Christmas Day 2023, when they lost 20-14 to the Las Vegas Raiders.
“The undefeated thing was cool, but that’s not our ultimate goal,” he said.
Last season, the Chiefs lost back-to-back games once, but they didn’t lose two games in a row during their 14-3 season in 2022. They lost twice in a row in 2021 and finished with a 12-5 record, and in 2020, they had a 14-2 record without consecutive losses.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said the team quickly shifted focus from the Buffalo game to the Panthers, without worrying about staying undefeated.
“I don’t really hear a lot of that talk from them or think they care too much about that, other than exhausting yourself the best you can to prepare yourself for that team there that week,” Reid said. “Then you get to a point where you say, ‘Listen, I’ve done everything I possibly can. Here’s a product.’ And you go play.”
Mahomes poses many challenges to defenses, even though the Chiefs’ offense has been affected by injuries. Running back Isiah Pacheco (broken leg) might return from injured reserve, but Reid said they wouldn’t decide until later in the week.
Pacheco’s hard-running style requires a team effort to tackle him, but the Panthers are more focused on containing Mahomes.
With the defensive backs improving at identifying formations, the Panthers hope to be more effective in their coverage.
“And making plays when the ball comes to them,” first-year coach Dave Canales said. “So a lot of growth there.”
The Panthers are sticking with Bryce Young as quarterback, which was expected after he led them to two wins since returning as the starter.
“This is about the continued progress,” Canales said. “Bryce looks more and more confident.”
With Young still working on his consistency, the Panthers expect the Chiefs to use various defensive strategies to test his ability to handle different looks.
“We just have to be prepared for those answers,” Canales said. “They’re going to have variety, (so) let’s do our best stuff as fast that we can to try to put a little bit of stress on them.”
The Panthers know not to take the Chiefs lightly.
“I feel like we just got to tighten up our details even more knowing that they’re coming in to find a way to win,” said Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn.
The Panthers were without starting left guard Damien Lewis due to illness on Wednesday, but their list of available players should be increasing. Receiver Adam Thielen is expected to play for the first time since September after recovering from a hamstring injury.
One of the biggest developments is that running back Jonathan Brooks (knee) is likely to make his NFL debut.
“I have really high hopes for him playing this Sunday,” Canales said. “Particularly with Miles (Sanders) out (ankle), to give us another running back in there with Chuba (Hubbard).”
