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Tribune News Service

Sport

Sam Mellinger

Chiefs 33, Panthers 31: A nailbiter finish at Arrowhead Stadium

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce pulls in a second quarter reception while in the grasp of Carolina Panthers linebacker Jermaine Carter on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star/TNS)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The most annoying thing about playing the Chiefs is not Tyrann Mathieu pointing to his head after he stops your best play or Frank Clark blowing kisses to you after a tackle or even Tyreek Hill turning touchdowns into comedy skits.

No, the most annoying thing about playing the Chiefs has to be that you need them to play less than their best, and you need to play your absolute best. And the Chiefs need to maintain that less-than-their-best consistently and you must maintain your best without relent.

Those two things need to merge, and live together, and at that point maybe you can join the Raiders as the only teams to beat the defending Super Bowl champions.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is blitzed by the Kansas City Chiefs defense while he throws in the first quarter on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Rich Sugg/The Kansas City Star/TNS)

We'll see that happen, by the way. Probably, anyway. But until then we'll keep adding to the list of Ways The Chiefs Have Shown They Can Win Games Now.

We saw some more in what turned out to be a 33-31 win over the Panthers at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. The Chiefs are significantly better than the Panthers. The Chiefs did not play significantly better. They did just enough, and only barely.

This is more of what we've talked about often this year. The Chiefs are not playing their opponent so much as they're playing themselves. That's the annoying part for an opponent. Their performance just doesn't matter, unless the Chiefs make enough mistakes and fail on enough points of execution to allow it to matter.

Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark celebrates after sacking Carolina Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in the third quarter on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Rich Sugg/The Kansas City Star/TNS)

The Panthers gave their best, too. Their best player, Christian McCaffrey, returned from injury. Their first-year coach, Matt Rhule, essentially took the Jon Gruden approach — do anything imaginable to beat the Chiefs.

The Panthers stayed aggressive. They went for fourth down, converted with a touchdown, and then did it again — converting with a fake punt. They converted a 4th and 14 when Teddy Bridgewater turned into something closer to Fran Tarkenton. They used trick plays, a surprise onside kick, blitzes, nine defenders in coverage, anything possible to achieve a win that would define and perhaps boost their season.

On offense, the gameplan seemed to be all aggression, with a dash of isolating Daniel Sorensen in space and relying on an underrated collection of playmakers to fill the gaps. On defense, the gameplan seemed to be unscouted looks, alternating between extremes of pressure and coverage.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce signals touchdown as wide receiver Demarcus Robinson comes down with a touchdown catch in the second quarter agains the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star/TNS)

The Chiefs countered this Die On The Hill approach with something closer to Meh That's A Big Hill Let's Just Chill for most of the first three quarters. Chris Jones played mostly well, but also extended a drive with a boneheaded roughing the passer penalty on third down that eventually gave the Panthers points and made it harder for the Chiefs to score before halftime.

Patrick Mahomes — and we should note that it the wind was bonkers — missed some throws that he normally hits. The Chiefs' run game sputtered, which is a kinder description than it deserves. They played much of the game with their third-string right tackle.

They did all this and still won because they possess answers for all the questions on the test.

Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Antonio Hamilton takes down Carolina Panthers wide receiver Brandon Zylstra in the first half on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Rich Sugg/The Kansas City Star/TNS)

They are virtually unbeatable when they run the ball well, but can win regularly without it because they are powered by Andy Reid's genius, Patrick Mahomes' unworldly ability, and an elite and complementary talent partnership between the sport's fastest receiver and it's best route-running tight end.

There used to be a loophole to beating the Chiefs, because no matter how many highlight touchdowns you give up you still had a secondary that help you down the field with penalties and blown coverages. That's done now, with a group that seems to alternate between bend-don't-break and making game-deciding plays based on what's needed.

The scored one touchdown on a play where Mahomes took the shotgun snap while in motion, another because the play design and speed put too much stress on the Panthers' safeties, and another after the backup right tackle went out for a pass and drew a defensive holding penalty.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes throws in the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star/TNS)

How are you supposed to overcome all this? Especially when the offense is not just explosive, but stingy on giveaways? Come on.

There is a path, of course. We've seen it before and, like we said earlier, we'll almost certainly see it again. The Raiders did it by protecting their quarterback and isolating their speed one-on-one, and dumping two months' worth of gameplan on one afternoon they'd built their season around.

You can beat the Chiefs by running the ball, or by stretching their secondary with speed (at least until L'Jarius Sneed returns). You can do it if you create pressure without blitzing. You can do it by winning on special teams, finding a way to create a turnover or two, and making sure you don't leave chunk plays on the floor.