No one was really calling this a trap game for the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12, their scheduled road game at Bank of America Stadium to visit the Carolina Panthers. That said, no one was taking it all that seriously either.
The Chiefs, for example, were the best examples of this. Coming off of a loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 11, the Chiefs definitely didn't want to start a losing streak with another defeat to the Panthers, but they also kept reinforcements from being available to them.
Instead of allowing some veterans to help, they kept names like Isiah Pacheco and Charles Omenihu at bay knowing the Las Vegas Raiders were coming on a short week since both teams will be playing on Black Friday. Both players are healthy enough to play but the Chiefs decided to wait. It was that sort of mindset coming into Week 12.
As it turned out, the Chiefs made a mistake by thinking that way.
The Chiefs officially escaped with a victory in Week 12, but the Carolina Panthers had them on the ropes with the game tied and less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter. For a team that was in first place in the AFC, that's too close for comfort and it's going to have fans on edge all week long.
The Chiefs narrowly defeated the Panthers in Week 12 despite the talent differential between the teams.
Of course, a win is a win, and it's possible this close of a victory over a clearly subpar team will be forgotten in the end. Every season features head-scratching games, and even this week in the NFL already featured a Browns' win over a much-better Steelers opponent. It's the nature of the NFL, which is why the phrase "any given Sunday" exists in the first place.
But going forward, it's going to be hard to forget about the way this game turned out.
To be fair, the Panthers deserve a lot of credit in this game. They are a very well-coached team with some nice young pieces in place. Chuba Hubbard is a playmaker out of the backfield, and Bryce Young looks so much better than he did to start the season. Jaycee Horn and Jordan Fuller are impact players in the secondary, and Adam Thielen's return really provided an offensive spark.
it's also true that the Panthers had won a couple of games in a row and were fresh coming off of their bye week. And every team seems to play up to the Chiefs each week—their version of a season's Super Bowl, if you will.
But beyond all of that, the Chiefs are coming away with more questions than answers even as they add another number in the win column.
There aren't many 10-1 teams that feature signfiicant concerns at tackle like these Chiefs. The defense that carried this team for several weeks this season has become a sieve in the last couple of games, allowing the Bills and Panthers to move the chains with ease on most drives in a game. The Chiefs' pass rush is getting nowhere at times, which places an even greater burden on an injury-riddled secondary.
The good news is that the team's offense is starting to click a bit more as guys get healthy. Patrick Mahomes looked as good as ever on Sunday with a strong all-around performance, and perhaps it's the offense's turn to carry the team. But the number of penalties and pressures allowed up front are going to stymie those efforts too unless help is found.
On Sunday, the Chiefs had nearly 400 total yards and converted 8 of 13 third downs and still needed a last-second field goal from—checks notes—Spencer Shrader—to put the Panthers away. That still sounds weird: "to put the Panthers away". The problem is the endless parade of penalties on both sides of the ball—silly DPI calls in the end zone or offensive holding in the red zone. And it wasn't just Jawaan Taylor (though it was definitely Jawaan Taylor). It was Trey Smith and Joe Thuney as well.
The Chiefs are getting a lot of help via returning players soon enough. They also signed D.J. Humphries to bolster the tackle position in the coming weeks. Let's hope the cavalry brings a fresh energy withi them and a commitment to clean up the mistakes. Right now, the Chiefs are a team that regularly insists on walking the tightrope between winning and losing and sometimes it's hard to watch. Even at 10-1.