Rested and ready, the Carolina Panthers might find a testy crew of Kansas City Chiefs when Patrick Mahomes plays in Charlotte for the first time Sunday afternoon.
The Panthers (3-7) have won two games in a row and are coming off an open week.
The Chiefs (9-1) don’t have a winning streak for the first time since January. They lost last weekend at Buffalo, though they share the best record in the NFL with the Detroit Lions.
The Chiefs are bound to be paying attention to more details after a rare disappointment for the two-time reigning Super Bowl champions.
“Try to use this as a spark so that we can be a better football team in the end,” Mahomes said of the loss to the Bills.
Mahomes said the Chiefs are keeping perspective after their first defeat since Christmas Day 2023 (20-14 to the Las Vegas Raiders).
“The undefeated thing was cool, but that’s not our ultimate goal,” he said.
Kansas City lost back-to-back games once last season but not during their 14-3 season in 2022. They dropped two in a row once in 2021 and finished 12-5 but ran up a 14-2 record in 2020 without losing consecutive games.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said the focus clicked quickly from Buffalo to the Panthers without players discussing being 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 challenges defenses in multiple ways even operating with an offense dented by injuries. There’s a chance running back Isiah Pacheco (broken leg) returns from injured reserve, but Reid said that decision wouldn’t be made until late in the week.
Pacheco’s hard-charging style commands a team approach to tackling, but Carolina doesn’t want to distract from intent to keep Mahomes under wraps.
With defensive backs doing better at formation identification, the Panthers are giving themselves a stronger chance to be effective at the back end.
“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 at quarterback, something that was expected given a couple of victories since he returned to the first-string role.
“This is about the continued progress,” Canales said. “Bryce looks more and more confident.”
With a quarterback who’s still trying to settle in and bolster production, the Panthers expect that the Chiefs will dial up some defensive packages to test Young’s 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 won’t be overconfident by any stretch. They’re aware of what the Chiefs are all about.
“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,” Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn said.
The Panthers were without starting left guard Damien Lewis because of illness Wednesday, but otherwise the team’s list of available players should be growing.
Receiver Adam Thielen is expected to be in action for the first time since September as he comes off a hamstring ailment.
Perhaps the biggest development that has been brewing for a few weeks is that running back Jonathan Brooks (knee) should be set for 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).”
