The 9-1 Kansas City Chiefs are at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina for their Week 12 matchup against the (3-7) Carolina Panthers. The Chiefs look to get back on track after a disappointing 30-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills. After their bye week, the Panthers have won their last two games under second-year quarterback Bryce Adams – and get wide receiver Adam Thielen back for Sunday’s game.

First quarter

The Panthers won the opening coin toss, delaying possession until the second half. That put the Chiefs in position to start the game on the attack, starting past midfield after running back Samaje Perine returned the ball 56 yards.

From the Panthers’ 41-yard line, the Chiefs worked their way to third down. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes stepped into the pocket and found tight end Noah Gray wide open. He ran into the end zone and immediately gave Kansas City a 7-0 lead.

The Chiefs defense pushed the Panthers to third down and came up short on the first possession; safety Chamarri Conner provided a second-down run play to help. The third-down pass was sped up, but beaten over the middle by Panthers’ quarterback Bryce Young. He made another big throw on the next move, finding wide receiver Xavier Legette downfield for 34 yards.

That put Carolina in the red zone, but the Chiefs found themselves on third down and well from the 12-yard line. Young looked for a touchdown pass, but safety Bryan Cook shut down the corner route. The Panthers settled for a field goal, cutting the Chiefs’ lead to 7-3.

The Chiefs offense looked to continue the rhythm it established early, finding wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster for a big completion. However, the play was negated by holding Wanya Morris at left tackle. Mahomes made up for it with a chain-moving throw to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. A screen pass to tight end Travis Kelce established order at the Panthers’ 25-yard line.

A tackle for loss on a second-down run doomed the Chiefs’ red zone drive. It appeared to be an accident between Wanya Morris and left guard Joe Thuney. Kansas City set up the short field goal and kicked it to extend the lead to 10-3.

The Panthers continued their offensive rhythm and got the best of the Chiefs on third-and-short by scheduling wide receiver Adam Thielen wide open. The 36-yard gain put Carolina in scoring position, ahead of another first-down play that went to the 13-yard line as the first quarter ended.

Second quarter

To defend the end zone, the Chiefs defense beefed up to force third down, just like on the first drive. Defensive end George Karlaftis shut down Young to force an incompletion on first down, then linebacker Drue Tranquill covered an intended receiver on the next play. The attempt on third down went into the end zone, but the pass fell through, leading to a field goal. The Chiefs maintained the lead at 10-6.

On the next drive, a drop by wide receiver Justin Watson set up a third down, but Mahomes ran up the middle to move the chains with ease. Then he found Kelce downfield to gain 27 yards and advance to the Panthers’ 29-yard line. Compensatory penalties gave the Chiefs another chance to cut down on third down, and wide receiver Xavier Worthy took advantage by breaking off a nine-yard completion on the sideline.

Inside the red zone, a direct snap to wide receiver Mecole pushed Hardman close to the end zone, but Joe Thuney was flagged for holding on the next play and set things back. It led to a third and long, but Carolina saved the Chiefs with defensive holding.

The penalties continued to pile up and the Chiefs were guilty twice of really putting Mahomes behind the sticks. He felt Gray could make up some of it on second down, but was ultimately sacked on third down after trying to break the pocket. The Chiefs looked for another field goal and made it, pushing the score to 13-6 with just over seven minutes left in the first half.

After surrendering sustained drives to Carolina, the Chiefs finally got the big play on early downs when defensive end Mike Danna chased down a sack on second down, resulting in a loss of 14 yards. The Panthers scored two plays later.

Hopkins sparked the Chiefs’ next drive with a chain-moving completion, then Justin Watson found space for 15 yards over the middle. Perine kept things going with a thirteen-yard cut, pushing past midfield and prompting a two-minute warning.

A sack on Mahomes broke the momentum of the drive, easily getting past the outside of Wanya Morris’ protection. However, the signal caller took matters into his own hands, running along the line of scrimmage on third-and-long and earning a first down by dropping his shoulder. He found Perine a few plays later and pushed to the Panthers’ 17-yard line with a minute left on the clock.

On third down in the red zone, Mahomes looked for his favorite tight end — Noah Gray, of course. The team’s No. 2 tight end scored his fourth touchdown in two games, giving the Chiefs a 20-6 lead with 45 seconds left in the second quarter.

The Panthers found room to work upfield before halftime and found chunky plays by exploiting defensive backs Nazeeh Johnson and Chamarri Conner in coverage. The offense worked all the way to the 11-yard line when play stopped due to an injury timeout, a concerning scene for Panthers’ tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders as he was carted off.

The Chiefs tightened up in the red zone, with defensive linemen Chris Jones and Tershawn Wharton pressuring a throw to be incomplete on first down. Then, linebacker Nick Bolton held tight coverage after a second-down miss. Young had to throw it away on third down and the Panthers settled for another field goal. The third successful kick brought the Chiefs’ halftime lead to 20-9.

Third quarter

The Panthers started the second half with possession. The Chiefs’ pass defense continued to be exposed by the young Carolina offense. Bryce Young found chunks of completion during the drive, with one setting up the Panthers at the Chiefs 22-yard line. Strong runs from running back Chuba Hubbard also helped, moving the chains twice.

From the Chiefs’ 11-yard line, Hubbard chipped away on the ground, but the Chiefs got the stop on a play-action try on third down. Carolina looked to finish fourth on the floor and came through the scrum.

Cornerback Trent McDuffie denied the Panthers’ attempt to throw a touchdown on first down, but Young went right after him again on second down. The slanted pass was collected and the Panthers’ successful extra point pushed the Chiefs’ lead to 20-16.

To get the Chiefs back on track, Mahomes got this drive going with a sideline pass to Worthy that moved the chains. Then, a pass interference call on Carolina helped the Chiefs move into Panthers territory. A third-down scramble by Mahomes was ruled short, and Hunt followed it with a strong run of 13 yards to establish himself in the red zone.

From inside the five-yard line, one Mahomes scrambling pass fell incomplete, but he followed it with another that ended with a touchdown to Hopkins. A key touchdown gave the Chiefs breathing room at 27-16.

The Chiefs defense appeared to close the door on Carolina, but Bryce Young refused. On third down, an all-out blitz didn’t phase him as he found an open receiver for 16 yards. That put the unit at the Chiefs’ 36-yard line as the third period ended.

Fourth quarter

The Panthers advanced into the red zone with help from Chiefs’ nose tackle Mike Pennel, who was assessed a penalty for unnecessary roughness after a run stop. His teammates stiffened to force the third down two snaps later, limiting the game to a short gain. That gave the Panthers a manageable field goal, cutting Kansas City’s lead to 27-19.

Trying to kill the clock and defend the eight-point lead, the Chiefs created a drive with nice plays from Hunt and Worthy to move the chains between short gains. However, possession was lost with two penalties on right tackle Jawaan Taylor.

It pushed the Chiefs to third and long, where an unblocked blitzer buried Mahomes and forced a punt with less than seven minutes on the clock.

Special teams

Kicker Spencer Shrader made a 25-yard field goal in the first quarter, his first field goal with the Chiefs. He hit a 41-yard punt in the second quarter to increase the Chiefs’ lead.

Running back Samaje Perine gained 56 yards on the return of the opening kickoff, setting up the Chiefs’ opening drive touchdown.

Safety Chamarri Conner was called for holding a punt return in the second quarter.

Mecole Hardman gained 23 yards on a punt return in the first half, but it was negated by Conner’s holding.