What presented itself as a golden opportunity to regain confidence after a first defeat this season almost turned into a real nightmare for the Kansas City Chiefs.
After struggling to dominate the poor Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon, the Chiefs found just enough energy to escape with a 30-27 victory.
Kansas City allowed 11 straight points to allow the Panthers to tie the game 27-27 in the fourth quarter, but true to form, Patrick Mahomes led an important offensive sequence late in the game. He first completed two short passes, before making a 33-yard run to put his team in position to score points.
Spencer Shrader then made a 31-yard field goal on the last play of the game to save the Chiefs from the worst scenario.
Mahomes had an excellent game with 27 completions for 269 yards, in addition to throwing three touchdown passes. Noah Gray was his favorite target, as the tight end scored two touchdowns and rushed for 66 yards. DeAndre Hopkins caught Mahomes’ other pass for the middle finger.
This victory for the Chiefs allows them to bring their record to 10 wins against a loss, after a 30-21 defeat against the Buffalo Bills last week.
Mahomes started his match with a bang. After a little over a minute of play, he spotted Gray alone and the latter ran 35 yards further for the touchdown.
After trading a few field goals with the Panthers, the Chiefs came back to attack once again thanks to the excellence of Mahomes and Gray. This time, in the second quarter, Mahomes found Gray in the end zone for 11 yards and the tight end was able to keep the ball despite the contact.
Panthers receiver David Moore and Chiefs receiver DeAndre Hopkins then scored touchdowns in the third quarter to make it 27-16.
However, everything got complicated for Kansas City in the last quarter. Eddy Pineiro first closed the gap with a 33-yard field goal, then Chubba Hubbard tied the game with less than two minutes to play, thanks to a touchdown on a one-yard run as well as a conversion of two points successful.
Mahomes, however, led the Chiefs to success to end the Panthers’ hopes.
The Chiefs will return to action Friday against the Las Vegas Raiders, while the Panthers face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
