The Panthers didn’t win on Sunday, but it was still another good day for quarterback Bryce Young’s redemption arc.
The Chiefs led 27-16 going into the fourth quarter, but Young led two scoring drives that tied the game with 1:46 left to play. After Patrick Mahomes did his thing to get the Chiefs into field goal range and win the game, Young’s teammates were effusive in their praise for the second-year quarterback’s work on and off the field.
Young addressed the team after the loss and cornerback Jaycee Horn said it showed that the quarterback “is a real dog” for telling them that it is “not a fluke where we just played toe-to-toe on the best team in the league.” Wide receiver Adam Thielen said he doesn’t think Young would have done that before being benched early this season and said “guys have been rallying around him just because of his progression he’s made.”
“I think he’s just earned his respect when you play on the field and prepare the right way,” Thielen said, via the team’s website. “You start to earn respect for your teammates, and you feel like you can have those conversations.”
Head coach Dave Canales avoided making any declarations about the long-term future at quarterback in Carolina, but said Young has “continued to show us the progress we’re looking for” and that’s the biggest statement anyone with the team can make about where things are going.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales gave an update on tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders’s condition after the end of Sunday’s 30-27 loss to the Chiefs.
Sanders had to leave the game after being flipped and landing on his head during the first half. Sanders was placed on a backboard and taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Canales said at halftime that Sanders has a concussion and has movement in all his extremities. He told reporters after the game that Sanders also has a neck injury and that the tight end has been released from the hospital.
Further updates will come during the week, but it’s a positive first update after a scary scene on Sunday.
The Panthers gave the Chiefs all they could handle on Sunday, but in the end, Patrick Mahomes did what Patrick Mahomes does to bring Kansas City a 30-27 victory.
Down 27-16 after Mahomes’ 3-yard touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins late in the third quarter, the Panthers stormed back with 11 points to tie it up with 1:46 left in the contest. Eddy Piñeiro hit a 33-yard field goal to narrow the deficit early in the fourth quarter. And after Carolina got a defensive stop, Chuba Hubbard powered his way into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown to make it 27-25.
A defensive pass interference penalty on the first two-point conversion gave Carolina a second opportunity, which the team capitalized on with a Hubbard run to tie the score at 27 apiece.
But Mahomes got it done on Kansas City’s ensuing drive, scrambling for a 33-yard gain all the way down to Carolina’s 22-yard line to set up a game-winning field goal.
With Harrison Butker out due to a knee injury, Spencer Shrader connected from 31 yards out as time expired to send Kansas City home a winner.
The Chiefs had scored on each of their first five possessions, building a 20-6 lead at halftime. But then in the fourth quarter, two punts allowed the Panthers to get back in it and tie the contest.
Mahomes finished the game 27-of-37 for 269 yards with three touchdowns — good for a 120.2 passer rating. It was just the third game all season for Mahomes without an interception. He tossed a 35-yard touchdown and an 11-yard touchdown to Noah Gray in the first half, giving Gray consecutive games with two touchdowns.
But Mahomes’ 3-yard scoring strike to Hopkins tied him with Len Dawson on the franchise’s all-time passing touchdowns list at 237.
Hopkins caught five passes for 35 yards with a TD and Travis Kelce also had six catches for 62 yards.
On the other side, quarterback Bryce Young played well, making some solid passes in the face of pressure. He finished 21-of-35 for 263 yards with a touchdown. He also had 20 yards rushing on three carries.
Panthers tight Ja’Tavion Sanders was carted off the field on a backboard with a neck injury late in the first half and transported to a local hospital. Fortunately, he had movement in his extremities.
Now at 10-1, the Chiefs will have a short week as they’ll host the Raiders for a Black Friday matchup on Nov. 29.
The 3-8 Panthers will host the division-rival Buccaneers in Week 13.
The Chiefs scored on all four of their first-half possession and hold a 20-9 lead over the Panthers at halftime.
After Samaje Perine started the game with a 56-yard kickoff return, quarterback Patrick Mahomes hit Noah Gray for a 35-yard touchdown to give Kansas City a 7-0 lead.
But then the two teams started trading field goals, with Carolina’s Eddy Piñeiro hitting from 30 and 32 yards and Kansas City’s Spencer Shrader connecting on 25- and 41-yard tries.
After two unsuccessful red-zone possessions, the third time was the charm for Kansas City, as Mahomes again found Gray for a touchdown — this time scoring from 11 yards out.
While the Panthers reached the red zone again, the drive ended in the same story. The club’s offense couldn’t do much inside the 20 and settled for a 29-yard field goal to end the first half.
Carolina hasn’t done much on the ground, as Bryce Young leads the club with 9 yards rushing. Chuba Hubbard has 4 yards on two carries while Jonathon Brooks has 3 yards on one carry — the first of his career.
Young is 10-of-18 passing for 177 yards.
Rookie tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders leads with three catches for 49 yards, but he had to exit the game on a backboard after he was flipped and landed on his head late in the first half.
Mahomes finished the first half 19-of-24 for 206 yards with two touchdowns and no picks. The Chiefs have had five players take a carry and Kareem Hunt leads with 24 yards on seven attempts.
Gray has 66 yards on four catches with his two touchdowns. He now has four TDs in the last two games.
Travis Kelce has four catches for 49 yards and DeAndre Hopkins has three receptions for 24 yards.
The Panthers will receive the second-half kickoff.
Panthers tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders was carted off the field late in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.
Sanders had caught a pass and was headed down the right sideline when he was hit low and flipped out of bounds. But when he came down, he landed on his head.
He stayed down on the sideline with medical personnel tending to him before he was stabilized on a backboard and placed on a cart.
Multiple reporters on the scene noted Sanders flashed a thumbs up as he was being driven off the field.
A rookie fourth-round pick out of Texas, Sanders entered the game with 26 catches for 253 yards and one touchdown. He caught three passes for 49 yards before exiting on Sunday.
UPDATE 2:50 p.m. ET: Panthers head coach Dave Canales told the CBS broadcast that Sanders had movement in all extremities and was still being evaluated coming out of halftime. He has been taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with a concussion.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has reached another career milestone.
Kelce has moved to No. 3 on the all-time list for receiving yards by a tight end.
Kelce entered the day with 11,835 — just behind Antonio Gates’ 11,841. Kelce passed Gates in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Panthers, catching a short pass and taking it 19 yards down to Carolina’s 25.
That helped lead to a field goal to extend Kansas City’s lead to 10-3.
Through 10 games, Kelce had recorded 62 receptions for 507 yards with two touchdowns in 2024.
The Chiefs are playing with a sea of red in the crowd in Charlotte, and it didn’t take long for Kansas City to give those fans something to cheer about.
Patrick Mahomes threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Noah Gray, giving the club an early 7-0 lead.
It was Mahomes’ first touchdown pass in the first quarter this season.
Kansas City’s offense was set up for success with a 56-yard kickoff return by Samaje Perine, putting the team at the Carolina 41.
Kareem Hunt rushed for 6 yards in two plays before Mahomes climbed the pocket to find a wide-open Gray 20 yards down the left side. Gray did the rest for his third touchdown in the last two weeks.
Every week we bring you all the inactives from the 1 p.m. ET games in one post, constantly updated with the latest information.
The Cowboys will be without both of their starting guards in Washington on Sunday.
Left guard Tyler Smith was ruled out when the team handed in its list of inactive players 90 minutes before Sunday’s game against the Commanders kicked off. Smith missed two practices this week with ankle and knee injuries before returning for a limited practice on Friday
Right guard Zack Martin was downgraded to out on Saturday. He has ankle and shoulder injuries. T.J. Bass and Brock Hoffman will likely get the start at guards for Dallas.
Cowboys at Commanders
Cowboys: G Zack Martin, G Tyler Smith, CB Trevon Diggs, CB Caelen Carson, RB Deuce Vaughn, TE Jake Ferguson, DE Tyrus Wheat
Commanders: CB Emmanuel Forbes, QB Jeff Driskel, CB Marshon Lattimore, LB Dominique Hampton, G Chris Paul
Buccaneers at Giants
Buccaneers: T Tristan Wirfs, DB Tykee Smith, CB Tyrek Funderburk, LB Jose Ramirez, TE Devin Culp, DL Earnest Brown
Giants: S Anthony Johnson, CB Tre Hawkins III, G Jake Kubas, DL Jordon Riley, QB Tim Boyle
Chiefs at Panthers
Chiefs: OL C.J. Hanson, DT Marlon Tuipulotu, T Ethan Driskell, RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, DE Cameron Thomas
Panthers: WR Jalen Coker, S Jammie Robinson, CB Shemar Bartholomew, LB Thomas Incoom, LB DJ Johnson, OL Jarrett Kingston, DT Jaden Crumedy
Patriots at Dolphins
Patriots: QB Joe Milton, WR K.J. Osborn, DT Jaquelin Roy, G Tyrese Robinson, DE Deatrich Wise, LB Titus Leo
Dolphins: RB Jeff Wilson, CB Ethan Bonner, CB Kendall Fuller, LB Mohamed Kamara, OL Andrew Meyer, TE Jack Stoll, WR Dee Eskridge
Titans at Texans
Titans: RB Tyjae Spears, CB Gabe Jeudy-Lally, OL Leroy Watson, TE David Martin-Robinson
Texans: DT Foley Fatukasi, T Blake Fisher, LB Jamal Hill, DE Jerry Hughes, CB Jeff Okudah, WR Steven Sims
Lions at Colts
Lions: CB Terrion Arnold, G Kayode Awosika, DT Brodric Martin, T Giovanni Manu, OL Colby Sorsdal, LB Al-Quadin Muhammed
Colts: QB Sam Ehlinger, WR Anthony Gould, S Darren Hall, DE Isaiah Land, TE Will Mallory, T Bernhard Raimann
Vikings at Bears
Vikings: TE Josh Oliver, CB Dwight McGlothern, DL Levi Drake Rodriguez, OL Dan Feeney, OL Walter Rouse, QB Brett Rypien
Bears: WR Tyler Scott, S Elijah Hicks, DB Ameer Speed, OL Ryan Bates, T Kiran Amegadjie, DE Dominique Robinson
The Panthers placed running back Miles Sanders on injured reserve Saturday, the team announced.
Sanders miss miss at least the next four weeks.
He injured an ankle in the second quarter of the pre-bye game in Germany, and he did not practice this week. The Panthers already had ruled him out for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.
Sanders, 27, has 38 carries for 139 yards and a touchdown this season, with the score coming in the Week 3 win at Las Vegas.
The Panthers have Raheem Blackshear and Jonathon Brooks behind Chuba Hubbard.
Brooks, the team’s second-round pick, “absolutely” will make his NFL debut Sunday after a full week of practice.
“He had a great week,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said Friday, via Kassidy Hill of the team website. “He’s been involved with the plan, and he looks confident. He was running hard, he was making cuts, you know, kind of starting to develop the second level part of his runs, which is what I wanted to see. I wanted to see him hit the hole, go through it, see the finish and all that. So, I’m excited to get him out there this week.”
Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco and defensive end Charles Omenihu have been practicing this week, but they’re not ready to play on Sunday.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said today that Pacheco and Omenihu are out for Sunday against the Panthers. Pacheco has been out since Week Two with an ankle injury and Omenihu has been since suffering a knee injury in the AFC Championship Game 10 months ago.
Reid described the two as day-by-day, which suggests they’re getting close. But they’re not ready just yet.
The Chiefs may think it makes more sense to save Pacheco and Omenihu for when they’ll need them. Kansas City is an 11-point favorite over Carolina on Sunday.
