Rapid Reactions: Panthers fall to Chiefs, but make strides in pass ...
CHARLOTTE — You never want to get too happy about a game you don't win.
But there were plenty of things that happened in Sunday's 30-27 loss to the Chiefs that the Panthers will reflect fondly upon as they evaluate the season.
Quarterback Bryce Young had his best game of the year, and perhaps the best of his career, all things considered (last year's Packers game was against a bad defense, and this was against a top-five Chiefs unit). They lost to snap a two-game winning streak prior to the bye week and fell to 3-8, but it felt like something was accomplished Sunday in Bank of America Stadium.
Young finished the game 21-of-35 passing with 262 yards and a touchdown, and drove them for a game-tying touchdown in the final two minutes of the game. That's an achievement for a player who lost his starting job three weeks into the season, and needed a car wreck to get it back.
It was the second-highest passing yardage total of his career, trailing the 312 against the Packers on Christmas Eve last year. It was also the highest of this season, and a steady progression in his fourth straight start since reclaiming the starting job thanks to Andy Dalton's accident on the Tuesday prior to the Denver game.
And even on a day when the Chiefs (10-1) sold out to stop the run — a reasonable stance when facing Chuba Hubbard, who entered the week fourth in the league in rushing — Young made plays with a depleted receiving corps.
Rookie Jalen Coker was inactive because of a late-week quadriceps injury, leaving Young throwing to Xavier Legette, Adam Thielen, and David Moore.
But that didn't seem to matter, as Young spread the ball around smoothly, with Moore in particular picking up the slack.
Moore finished with six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.
The Panthers ran for an uncharacteristically low 86 yards, but again, that was against loaded boxes because the Chiefs knew their best chance was to keep Hubbard from taking over. Rookie Jonathon Brooks made his debut but had just two carries for 7 yards.
But when the Panthers needed plays late, they turned back to their most-trusted agent, as Hubbard scored the touchdown and the two-point conversion to tie the game 27-27 with 1:46 left.
— The Panthers had a major scare just before halftime when tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders landed on his head after being tackled out of bounds.
He was loaded onto a backboard and taken off the field, and directly to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center for observation. He obviously did not return to the game.
Sanders had movement in his extremities before he left and flashed a thumbs up to the crowd as he was carted off the field.
— The Panthers defense did everything it reasonably could against the Chiefs.
Kansas City scored on all four possessions in the first half and their first five. But three of them were field goals.
That's a win against a team that might not be playing to its previous standard but still has Patrick Mahomes.
There were penalties and other things coaches will pick apart in the aftermath, but the overall impression was a good one. When they made the Chiefs punt twice in the fourth quarter, it gave them a chance to tie the game late.
Mahomes drove them for a game-winning field goal as time expired, but that's what Patrick Mahomes does.
— Eddy Piñeiro was questionable entering the game because of a slight left knee injury suffered two weeks ago in Germany.
But he was perfect on four field goals, allowing him to remain the most accurate kicker in league history (which he will continue to be until he misses).
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