KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (7-1)
Head Coach: Andy Reid (8th season)
Head to Head: Chiefs lead all-time series 4-2
Offensive Strength: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes - plain and simple. Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, and he's the sole reason the Chiefs have arguably the league's best offense. Mahomes currently has 2,315 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns and just one interception. His weapons are wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who is second in the league with eight touchdowns, tight end Travis Kelce, who leads all tight ends with 610 receiving yards, and running backs Clyde Edwards-Helaire and recently signed Le'Veon Bell. Kansas City has a +101 margin of victory through the half of the season, with its only loss coming to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Chiefs are averaging 31.6 points per game, are converting on 49.5 percent of their third downs and are scoring 82.4 percent of the time in the red zone. The list can go on about how good this offense is.
Offensive Weakness: There aren't many weaknesses to be found on offense but if one had to be chosen, it would be the running game. Kansas City might have found a future star in rookie Edwards-Helaire but they decided to sign former All-Pro, Bell, two weeks ago to try and help their run game. Last week, the Chiefs still only managed 50 yards on the ground, but it doesn't only matter with their elite passing game. Overall, Kansas City ranks 13th in rushing yards per game.
Defensive Strength: The Chiefs secondary has been very good this season, allowing just 201.3 yards per game, ranking third in the league, and they've held opposing quarterbacks to a 76.8 passing rating, which is the second-lowest in the league. Led by safeties Tyrann Mathieu, and Daniel Sorenson, Kansas City has nine interceptions on the year. On the defensive line, linebacker Damien Wilson is on pace to get 100 tackles this year and they still have one of the league's best interior linemen in Chris Jones, who has 4.5 sacks this year.
Defensive Weakness: Stopping the run game is the biggest weakness on this Chiefs team. They've allowed 142.8 rushing yards per game, which is 29th in the NFL and they have 17 sacks, which is 15th in the league.
Special Teams: Former Panthers kicker Harrison Butker has become one of the league's best kickers since the Chiefs took him off Carolina's practice squad in 2017. Butker is 13-14 on field-goal attempts this season with a long of 58 but is just 24-29 on extra points. Kansas City also has big weapons in the kick and punt return game with Byron Pringle and Mecole Hardman.
Injuries:
Panthers:
DOUBTFUL: LT Russell Okung (Calf)
QUESTIONABLE: S Jeremy Chinn, DT Marquis Haynes, DT, Zach Kerr
Chiefs:
OUT: T Mitchell Schwartz (back)
QUESTIONABLE: DE Frank Clark (knee), WR Sammy Watkins (hamstring)
Related
Matchup vs. Carolina: The Panthers might have Christian McCaffrey back and will get a boost on the secondary with Rasul Douglas returning, but they'll have their work cut out for them with Mahomes and the Chiefs. Carolina has shown they can get into the red zone, but they need to convert and score touchdowns. Just scoring field goals will not do it against the elite Kansas City offense. If the Panthers can get their third-down and red zone offense going with McCaffrey, they might be able to keep it close with the defending champions.
Related
Quotable:
"When you look statistically at what they've (Chiefs) done offensively and some of the things we've done well, offensively, there's a lot of things that do matchup. I think they have 41 touchdowns and/or field goal opportunities and we have 39. The problem is they have more touchdowns and we have more field goals ... We can only hope to have the success that they've had," -Panthers head coach Matt Rhule
"It starts with Patrick. Everything runs through him. Patty. If we can pressure him, keep uncomfortable in the pocket, hit him a lot, things will start slowly going our ways. We just have to try and limit the explosive plays between him and his weapons," -Panthers defensive end Brian Burns
"Every week is challenging and you're going against the defending champ. We just have to go in with the right mindset and understand that we've just got to play the game the way we know how to play. We can't let it be a game where they're dictating the tempo and the speed of the game," -Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.