Chiefs at Panthers, Week 12 preview
Time to get back on track.
The Kansas City Chiefs (9-1) hope to bounce back after their loss to the Buffalo Bills last week. They’ll take on the Carolina Panthers (3-7), a team that has had quite a rough season despite having some talented players on its roster.
Key game details
Location: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
Date: Sunday, Nov. 24
Time: Noon CT / 1 p.m. ET
Network/streaming: CBS
Radio: 96.5 The Fan, Chiefs mobile app
Broadcasters: Ian Eagle, Charles Davis
Referee: Shawn Smith
Spread: Chiefs 10.5 to 11-point favorites
Weather: Approx. 61°, clear skies, up to 5 mph winds, chance of rain 1%
Injury reports from Thursday
Report from Chiefs reporter Matt McMullen.
Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco and defensive end Charles Omenihu are getting very close to returning, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them sit out one more game. Kansas City frankly won’t need those two against Carolina, and also will be on a short week heading into its Week 13 game on Black Friday.
The injury bug has seemingly hit the Panthers’ squad, with their linebacker corps looking especially beat up. The positive for Carolina is that it’ll debut rookie running back Jonathan Brooks, who has spent the last year recovering from an ACL injury from back in college.
Notable storylines for Week 12
Get right
The Chiefs’ loss to the Bills last week was probably a blessing in disguise, as it allowed the team to more closely examine its flaws. We know opposing offenses like to attack the Chiefs’ linebackers and CB2 in coverage, and we know opposing defenses can take advantage of the team’s weak edges of the offensive line. The question is, what will the Chiefs do to fix those issues?
A game against Carolina is the perfect time to figure those things out. Look, no game is a “gimme” in the NFL — there’s too much talent on every team to assume any game will be a cakewalk. But the Panthers are clearly one of the NFL’s weakest teams, and are banged up to boot. This game is an opportunity for K.C. to get back to basics, but also try new things and see what else is working. The Chiefs have proven that they can squeeze out wins against weaker teams even when messing around a little bit.
Get back to Xavier Worthy
The Chiefs force fed rookie receiver Xavier Worthy last week and saw success. He earned 68 total yards and a touchdown on five touches in the first half. Then the second half came, and the Chiefs sort of… stopped. Why? Maybe they didn’t want to show their hand. Maybe Buffalo adjusted. I’m not sure, but Worthy absolutely needs the work. Keep putting the ball in his hands and see what happens.
Where are you, pass rush?
The Chiefs, who are bottom-four in the league in sacks at 19, couldn’t generate a pass rush at all last week. They didn’t earn a sack. The team’s two main pass rushers, DEs George Karlaftis and Mike Danna, haven’t been able to get home much over the last couple weeks. Maybe that’s just exhaustion, and maybe the impending return of Omenihu will help. In the meantime, I’d like to see the team work in newly-acquired Joshua Uche on more snaps — he had just five last week against the pass. Like I said, this is a game where trying new things could be beneficial in the long run.
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OVERALL RECORD: 14-16
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DeAndre Hopkins: 43.5 receiving yards (HIGHER)
Following a loss, Patrick Mahomes, as a double-digit favorite, has gone 4-0 straight up in his career. Since we don’t need to worry about whether he covers, we can feel confident he’ll get the ball out to WR DeAndre Hopkins in this matchup rather easily.
The last few weeks have been concerning, especially that Hopkins has not been the first-read option for Mahomes as much, but the matchup is ideal for a bottom-level defense that has not been able to rush the passer. Look for Hopkins to settle in with 1-5 once again, and we can capitalize on going higher than a number we would have never expected to be this low just a few weeks back.
Spencer Shrader: 1.5 field goals made (HIGHER)
As mentioned, the Chiefs are double-digit road favorites, so if the game goes according to script, this is the perfect scenario for Shrader to get some kicks in as he fills in for the injured Harrison Butker.
The Panthers rank bottom-five in the NFL in points allowed to placekickers, and weather should not be a factor with light wind and sunny skies in the 60s in Carolina this Sunday afternoon.
Bryce Young: 0.5 interceptions (HIGHER)
The Panthers have won two straight coming off a bye, but facing an angry Chiefs defense is nowhere near the same as taking down a deflated Saints and Giants team the previous two weeks.
Young has helped the Panthers pull out a three-point and one-point win respectively, and he’ll almost assuredly be throwing a ton if the Chiefs are able to take an early lead. At some point, the numbers suggest a mistake will come, and K.C. will capitalize.
Chiefs-Panthers matchup history
The Chiefs have played the Panthers the fewest times out of any other NFL team. Only seven games have been played between them dating back to 1997, with the Chiefs leading the all-time series 5-2.
The last time the Chiefs and Panthers played…
It was November 8, 2020, and coincidentally the Panthers had three wins while the Chiefs only had one loss heading into that game as well. That game was expected to be a blowout, but it was actually a close one. Then-Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater earned three touchdowns while RB Christian McCaffrey earned two. Mahomes threw for four TDs in that game, leaning on tight end Travis Kelce and WR Tyreek Hill to do most of the receiving work. The Chiefs ended up winning 33-31.
The best Chiefs-Panthers game ever was…
There aren’t many to choose from. They’ve had a few close games, but none of them were classics. The closest was probably their matchup from December 10, 2000, when then-Chiefs QB Elvis Grbac threw a pass to WR Derrick Alexander, which was tipped by him and fell into the hands of TE Tony Gonzalez for a score. The Chiefs eventually won 15-14 thanks to a missed field goal by Carolina.
Chiefs-Panthers prediction, picks
Is there any scenario where the Chiefs lose this one? I’m sure there is, but it would have to be catastrophic.
Will the Chiefs beat the Panthers?
I certainly hope so. The Panthers have a super weak defense (especially their run D) and have multiple injuries on that side of the ball. Their offense isn’t much better, with one of the worst passing attacks in the league. Their biggest hope is the debut of Brooks, but the Chiefs have actually done a good job of stuffing the run this year, so I don’t see a rookie RB making a huge impact in his first NFL game against K.C.’s run defense.
Will the Chiefs cover the spread?
It’s a big spread at 11 points, and we all know how much the Chiefs love to play with their food. This has the potential to be a blowout, though, and while I don’t expect the Chiefs to win by 30, I expect a two-possession victory thanks to a consistent offensive attack and an angry Chiefs defense that has something to prove after blowing last week’s game against Josh Allen.
Wes’ pick: Chiefs 27, Panthers 13