Four Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs' 30-27 Win Over the Carolina Panthers

The Kansas City Chiefs traveled to face the Carolina Panthers in Week 12, and there was plenty to take away from the Sunday afternoon contest.

Nov 24, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid yells out to his offense during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

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

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

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

The Noah Gray breakout is happening before our very eyes

With so many wide receiver injuries taking place this season, the Chiefs have desperately needed healthy and available players to step up elsewhere. While the ground game plays a major part in that, the tight end room is also being leaned on more. Fourth-year man Noah Gray came into 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 just the first half alone against Carolina, Gray hauled in four passes for a team-high 66 yards. He also capitalized with 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 following a contract extension. Gray is outperforming his pay in a major way right now. These last two games are perfect examples of it.

Penalties and missed assignments plagued Kansas City in the first half

Don't get it twisted: Kansas City's offense averaged 6.7 yards per play in the opening half and Steve Spagnuolo's defense surrendered just nine points. The Chiefs carried a well-deserved advantage into the locker room, so their shortcomings didn't put the game in jeopardy at the time. With that said, mental mistakes and a lack of discipline prevented things from getting 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's holding infraction offset what would've been a 20-yard gain. On the next possession, right guard Trey Smith and wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster backed up the sticks in Carolina territory by forcing flags to get thrown. Both of those series resulted in field goals. On defense, multiple players got lost in coverage en route to chunk plays for the Panthers and corner Nazeeh Johnson had an ugly holding penalty. The 11-point lead at halftime seemed like plenty, yet it likely should've been even more.

Polar opposite observations on Mahomes and the Chiefs' defense

Narratives surrounding the Kansas City offense and defense alike have been constructed with performances in recent weeks. On the former side, Mahomes tossed three touchdowns in two of his last three outings and had two combined interceptions in those games. The football world has long awaited 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, blending in a mix of tough throws and some critical rushes. Mahomes looked as comfortable and confident as ever against Carolina, which is a good thing for Kansas City's offense even when accounting for their competition.

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

Chiefs bounce back, notch another 10-win season heading into Raiders week

Coming off a tough loss in Week 11, many expected Kansas City to respond and get back to their winning ways on Sunday. That's precisely what they did (with some drama along the way), and this victory secured another season with double-digit wins for Reid and company. That makes it 10 in a row dating back to 2015, which now takes a podium position for the best streak in league history. Only the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers (17 and 16, respectively) have more consecutive years with that much success. Don't take what the Chiefs are doing for granted: it's far from normal.

Up next for the Chiefs, it's a short week with the Las Vegas Raiders coming to town. The reigning champs have limited time to prepare for a Black Friday contest against a division rival but thanks to a win on Sunday, their pace in the AFC is maintained. Should running back Isiah Pacheco and defensive end Charles Omenihu get back for that game, it'd be a big-time boost in time for an AFC West bout right after Thanksgiving.

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