Kansas City Chiefs: Four things we learned in Week 9 win vs Panthers

The Kansas City Chiefs narrowly defeated the Panthers in Week 9, but it wasn’t pretty. What did we learn in the victory?

That was not a pretty win for the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, who very well could be 7-2 right now instead of 8-1 in a season where every win matters (only one team gets a bye in the playoffs). The Chiefs defense, who struggled all game long, managed to hold the Panthers to a 4th and long with just four seconds left and a wide right field goal attempt by Joey Slye proved to be the difference in KC’s victory.

Any time the Chiefs play lousy, we learn a lot about them, and that’s the case once again here. Let’s dive into what we learned about the reigning champs in their 33-31 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Where is the run game?

The Chiefs drafted Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the first round this year to spice up their run game and for three straight games, the rushing attack has been almost non-existent. It was especially bad this week, as the run game totaled just 30 yards on 12 carries — That’s it.

Edwards-Helaire had five carries for 14 yards (he did have a receiving touchdown for what it’s worth) while Le’Veon Bell had only four carries for eight yards. Not good.

I get that the Chiefs are a pass first team, but they tried to shake that notion by drafting CEH and signing Bell. It hasn’t worked in the past three games and it’s something the Chiefs need to improve on if they want to win their second straight Super Bowl.