Three keys to the game for the Chiefs against the Panthers

After suffering their first loss of the season, the Chiefs head down to Charlotte as heavy favorites. Here are three x-factors to KC getting back in the win column.

When the schedule was released last May, I remember thinking to myself that if Andy Reid were to ever adopt the NBA’s load management theory, week 12 against the Carolina Panthers might be the week. While I am 99.9 percent sure the old-school coach that Reid is would never adapt in that way, as he has too much respect for the game, it just made some sense with Kansas City playing another game five days later against the Las Vegas Raiders, some of the Chiefs’ key players being older veterans, because the bye came in week six this season and they have a stretch next month where they play three games in 10 days. 

Well, after the first loss of the season last week at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, if the Chiefs want to have a week of rest the first week of the playoffs, every week is just as important as the next. While I think the Panthers might still be the worst team in football, they are coming off two straight victories, have had two weeks to prepare after a week 11 bye and have a first-year head coach that will treat this game like it is their Super Bowl. With a Carolina win, it might not be too hyperbolic to say it could be franchise altering in the sense of getting players and the city to believe in Dave Canales.

Kansas City cannot let one loss become two. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes' main message after the loss was that he needs to play more with a sense of urgency earlier in the game and not totally rely on the teams’ confidence that they will pull out every win when they have a chance to win late. Of course, that confidence is a great thing, but it would be a lot less stressful for the players, coaches and fans if they could get better at building a lead, rather than letting opponents hang around. Here are the three keys to the Chiefs putting the Panthers down without having to sweat it out at noon on Sunday.