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

Even when playing terribly, the Chiefs are still better than most teams’ best effort

This game was yet another example of the Chiefs not playing their best football and still coming out victorious. The Panthers were the better team on Sunday and played a really good game, throwing everything they could at Kansas City in all facets of the game (fake punt, 4th and 14 run, onside kicks, etc.).

Even with their best possible effort, it wasn’t enough for the Panthers to beat the Chiefs. While this seems like a good thing, Kansas City shouldn’t HAVE to rely on a last second missed field goal by the opposition to win the ball game. The Chiefs should have THRASHED Carolina in this game and when they went up 26-17, it felt like the momentum had shifted and KC would cruise from there.

That didn’t happen. The defense fell asleep at the wheel again and on the final offensive possession for the Chiefs offense, they called some really dumb plays and gave the ball back to Carolina. There was no reason for this match-up to be as close as it was, but we’ve seen the Chiefs underwhelm against lesser opponents this year and it’s going to catch up with them again at some point.

The Kansas City Chiefs enter their Week 10 bye with an 8-1 record and a lot to work on before they return to action on Sunday night against the Raiders in Week 11. They should be motivated to smack the Raiders around after Vegas beat them at Arrowhead in Week 5, but with how disinterested this team looks against “lesser” opponents, who knows if that’ll be the case.