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CHARLOTTE – The Panthers stayed close and had one last chance to stun the defending Super Bowl champions on the road. But kicker Joey Slye’s 67-yard basket attempt was wide as the clock ticked and Carolina fell to Kansas City, 33-31.
The Panthers’ aggressive and daring performance was therefore short, and with the loss they are now 3-6 for the 2020 season.
Here are some quick reactions from the contest:
The Panthers struggled to slow down Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who finished with 10 receptions for 159 yards, just 9 yards from a career-high.
Kelce’s biggest play came midway through the third quarter when he caught a pass in the third and seventh and took 44 yards to set up a touchdown. Kelce gained 18 yards after the catch, stiff arm safety Tre Boston in the process to gain extra yards.
While quarterback Patrick Mahomes and wide receiver Tyreek Hill didn’t seem to be on the same page for much of the game, they corrected him in the second half. Hill was wide open for a 28-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, giving the Chiefs a 26-17 lead after an extra run missed. Hill finished with nine receptions on 18 targets for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
Facing fourth and 14th at the start of the fourth quarter, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater scrambled and converted with an incredible 15-yard rush.
Bridgewater had completed a 28-yard pass to diving receiver Curtis Samuel to start the drive, but running back Christian McCaffrey was stuffed for a 4-yard loss on the next play. Two incomplete passes left Carolina with an unenviable position on the fourth down.
But down to nine with just over 10 minutes to go, head coach Matt Rhule chose to be aggressive and keep the offense on the pitch. When Bridgewater had no one to throw at, it took off. And when it looked like he could be tackled a few yards away, Bridgewater leapt into the air and dove over a defender to win the first down.
The extra effort kept Carolina on the field for Bridgewater to land a 4-yard touchdown that reduced Kansas City’s lead to 26-24 with 10:22 remaining.
The game couldn’t have started better for the Panthers, who played 15 games and took 8:53 on the clock en route to score a touchdown in their first practice.
Carolina converted a pair of third downs to get deep into Kansas City territory: McCaffrey took a run down the middle in third and fourth for a 5 yard gain before Bridgewater connected with wide receiver DJ Moore for a gain of 7 yards on the third and 6 of the Kansas City 24.
But when Samuel was shot a few yards from the sticks on the Chiefs 14 third and eighth, the Panthers chose to go. With a blitz coming to his left, Bridgewater hit a wide-open McCaffrey into the flat for an easy 9-yard score.
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