Winners and Losers from the KC Chiefs' Week 12 Victory Over the Carolina Panthers

In the Kansas City Chiefs' Week 12 win over the Carolina Panthers, multiple players stood out for good and bad reasons alike.

Nov 24, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (8) celebrates with quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Just like that, the Kansas City Chiefs are winners once again following a clutch triumph over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

It wasn't the prettiest victory for the reigning Super Bowl champs – that's for certain. After building a solid lead into the second half, the Kansas City offense sputtered a bit and its defense struggled to contain a bad Panthers offense all afternoon. In the end, though, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the club's new placekicker saved the day and preserved the Chiefs' 10th win of the season.

With that in mind, let's point out some of the Chiefs' biggest winners and losers from the 12th week of the regular season.

WINNER: Noah Gray

For the second week in a row, tight end Noah Gray leads us off here as a clear winner from Week 12. The fourth-year man posted his second consecutive game with at least four receptions, also adding another two-touchdown effort on Sunday. In just 11 games, Gray has already set personal bests in receiving yards (315), first downs (20) and touchdowns (4) for a season. Without Gray, it's worth wondering where this Chiefs offense would be.

LOSER: Chamarri Conner

The past month or so has not been particularly kind to Chamarri Conner. The converted safety is spending most of his time in the slot as Kansas City's nickel cornerback this year, which isn't an experiment that's working out well. Although Conner did have a second-down stop on a screen pass on Sunday, he missed a tackle on a jet sweep and lost to Panthers wideout Adam Thielen twice in the fourth quarter. One of the plays was for a pass interference call in the end zone, giving Carolina a first-and-goal opportunity. Add in a holding call that wiped out a 16-yard punt return by Mecole Hardman, and it's easy to see how Conner impacted Week 12 in a negative way.

WINNER: Spencer Shrader

What a month it's been for undrafted rookie kicker Spencer Shrader. Not only is the former Notre Dame standout still perfect on field goal tries this year, but he now has a game-winner on his resume as well. Thanks to Mahomes helping get the offense in scoring position late in Sunday's game, Shrader capitalized with a 31-yard boot as time expired to give the Chiefs another win. Shrader is grateful for his opportunity with a contending team and as Harrison Butker continues to recover from his injury, Kansas City may have found someone who can fill in at an adequate level.

LOSER: Justin Reid

Safety Justin Reid fell victim to some tough circumstances on Sunday. First off, he got beat by rookie receiver Xavier Legette deep down the field on an absolute dime of a throw by Bryce Young for a 34-yard gain. Later on, he got lost in traffic on a 36-yard play to Thielen that the entire defense seemed to botch. Reid also got caught playing too deep (and linebacker Nick Bolton potentially playing too shallow) on a third-down conversion in the second half. The final nail in the coffin was a questionable unnecessary roughness call on a two-point conversion try. In a game that saw Steve Spagnuolo's defense struggle immensely, Reid had his hand in that effort.

WINNER: Patrick Mahomes

In what's been an up-and-down season for Mahomes, Sunday was one of the highest moments of his 2024-25 campaign. The two-time MVP appeared comfortable and confident for most of the game, throwing with purpose and even extending plays, too. His 33-yard scramble in the fourth quarter led to the aforementioned Shrader kick and was just one of many examples of Mahomes putting the Chiefs on his back. Despite getting minimal help from his offensive line down the stretch (more on that soon), he looked a lot more like the NFL's best quarterback in Week 12.

LOSER: Most of Kansas City's offensive line

Whenever a quarterback gets sacked five times, it's hard not to look at his offensive line to figure out what went wrong, especially considering how good Mahomes is at avoiding hits. Kansas City struggled with stunts in Week 12, also dealing with poor tackle play on both sides. Wanya Morris appeared to be laboring at times; D.J. Humphries might be seeing the field after all. On the right side, Trey Smith and Jawaan Taylor's lack of compatibility continues to show and both had costly penalties on Sunday. Even left guard Joe Thuney committed a rare infraction. Mahomes was sacked three times in the fourth quarter, subsequently giving the Panthers a chance to claw back into the game. The Chiefs need better play from their front five.

WINNER: Samaje Perine

Samaje Perine may be a depth piece at running back, but he made the most of his limited role on Sunday. In addition to breaking off a 13-yard rush and a 13-yard reception against Carolina, he also notched a 56-yard kickoff return to open the game. Given that players like Carson Steele aren't doing much on the latter front, perhaps rolling with Perine could help moving forward. With Clyde Edwards-Helaire being a healthy scratch and Isiah Pacheco's return looming, Perine projects to maintain some sort of abbreviated workload and maximize those reps.

Read More: NFL Reporter Drops Hint About Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown's Potential Return to Chiefs