KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw three touchdowns for the third time in the Kansas City Chiefs’ last four games, but it was his legs that saved the day at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
The two-time reigning champion Chiefs had coughed up an 11-point halftime lead, a lead that remained intact at the start of the fourth quarter.
Chuba Hubbard tied the game with a 1-yard touchdown run and the subsequent two-point conversion with 1:46 remaining.
One play after Kansas City had converted a third down to start the drive, Mahomes escaped the pocket to the left and scrambled 33 yards along the sideline, moving the Chiefs from their own 45-yard line to the cusp of the red zone and setting the stage for Spencer Shrader’s game-winning 31-yard field goal as time expired.
“It ended up as a heckuva game there, but there’s some good things we can take out of this,” coach Andy Reid said.
With the 30-27 win, the Chiefs moved to 10-1 and remained atop the AFC standings in the chase for the top seed in the playoffs.
“Nothing’s given to you and you’re getting their best shot, so keep your heads up,” Reid told the team in the locker room after the victory.
The 30 points match a season-high, which Kansas City also had in a Nov. 4 overtime win against Tampa Bay.
Mahomes finished 27 of 37 for 269 yards with those three TDs and no interceptions. He also added five carries for 60 yards against a Carolina defense that sacked him five times despite coming into the week with the second-fewest sacks in the NFL this season (12).
MAHOMES. 33-YARD RUN.📺: #KCvsCAR on CBS/Paramount+📱: http://atnfl.co/watch[image or embed]
Mahomes — who has now led 21 career game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime, including a NFL- and career-best five this season — improved to 19-4 in starts following a loss in his NFL career.
“It doesn’t matter what your record is in this league,” said tight end Noah Gray, who had his second career and second consecutive multi-touchdown game. “You’re going to get the best from every single team.”
10 WINS AGAIN
Kansas City is the third team in NFL history to win at least 10 games in 10 consecutive seasons, joining the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick-era Patriots (17 straight seasons) and the Joe Montana/Steve Young-era 49ers (16).
The Chiefs have won 10-plus games in 11 of Reid's 12 seasons with the franchise and he has 19 such seasons overall — which is tied for third all-time behind Belichick and Don Shula, who have 20 such seasons apiece.
Reid is only the second NFL head coach to lead a team to 10 straight seasons of at least 10 wins (Belichick, 17 from 2003-19).
SHRADER SAVES THE DAY
Spencer Shrader was perfect on his first eight kicks coming as an NFL rookie, including stints with Indianapolis and the New York Jets.
He’s still perfect after six more tries — three extra points and his first three field goals since joining the Chiefs — including the game-winner as time expired.
Shrader made 25- and 41-yard field goals in the first half then cemented the three-point win with a 31-yarder to cap a seven-play, 57-yard drive in the final 1:46.
He’s now 5 for 5 on field goals and 9 for 9 on extra points in his career — including nine kicks, three field goals and six extra points in his first two weeks since joining Kansas City after Harrison Butker went on injured reserve after knee surgery.
KELCE’S PLACE IN NFL HISTORY
Four-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce moved into third place in NFL history for receiving yards by a tight end early in the first half.
During his 12-year NFL career, and despite missing his rookie season with a knee injury, Kelce has racked up 975 catches for 11,897 yards.
Kelce trails only Tony Gonzalez (15,127), who ranks sixth in career receiving yards among all players, and Jason Witten (13,046), who ranks 20th all-time, among tight ends in league history.
He passed Antonio Gates (11,841) with a 19-yard catch midway through the first quarter and finished Sunday’s win with six catches for 62 yards.
Kelce ranks 32nd all-time in career receiving yards right behind Michael Irvin (11,904).
The Chiefs’ future Hall of Fame tight end ranks 16th in receptions in NFL history and could pass Randy Moss (982) on Friday against Las Vegas.
MAHOMES REACHES ANOTHER MILESTONE
The bad news for Chiefs fans — Kansas City’s defense was a shell of itself.
There was no clearer evidence than Carolina’s 8-minute, 34-second touchdown drive to start the third quarter, which pulled the Panthers within 20-16.
The good news — the offense came to life for one of its best performances of the season.
The Chiefs answered that haymaker to open the second half with a 10-play touchdown drive — its fourth straight drive that spanned at least 10 plays — restoring a two-score lead when Mahomes darted a 3-yard touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins.
It was Mahomes’ 250th career touchdown (237 passing and 13 rushing), which moved him into a tie with Dan Marino for the second-most touchdown contributions before turning 30 (Peyton Manning, 253). He threw two touchdowns to tight end Noah Gray earlier in the game.
The 237 touchdown passes also tie Hall of Fame quarterback and Chiefs legend Len Dawson for the most in franchise history.
FIRST-QUARTER SUCCESS
It only took 1 minute, 25 seconds for Mahomes to connect with tight end Noah Gray on a 35-yard touchdown, but it was a first-quarter TD three months in the making.
Mahomes had thrown zero touchdowns and five interceptions in the first 10 weeks of the season before Gray got free downfield and scored a walk-in touchdown, his third in the last two weeks. He'd add another in the second quarter.
“I think they just kind of lost me in coverage and [Kelce] did a great job underneath pulling the flat defender out,” Gray said. "... It was good to get a touchdown on that first drive and kickstart the game.”
Since taking over as the Chiefs’ starter in 2018, Mahomes had thrown 56 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions in the first quarter during his career, so the drought was startling.
Mahomes noted after last week’s loss at Buffalo that he needed to start the game with more urgency and sustain it throughout the game.
Kansas City led 10-3 after the first quarter, which finished with Mahomes 7 of 7 for 94 yards and boasting a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating.
Gray’s 35-yard catch and run was the longest reception of his four-year NFL career.
OFFENSE DOMINATES FIRST HALF
Kansas City’s offense scored on all four first-half drives en route to a 20-9 halftime lead.
“Offensively, the guys started fast and {Offensive Coordinator] Matt [Nagy] made that a huge emphasis this week,” Reid said. “The guys followed with it [Nagy’s lead] and did some nice things there. But we’ve got to keep building on it.”
Samaje Perine’s 56-yard kickoff return started the game in style for the Chiefs, propelling the offense to a relatively easy game-opening touchdown drive.
Mahomes connected with Gray — who matched his career-highs for receptions and receiving with four catches for a team-best 66 yards — for a touchdown on the third snap from scrimmage, but Kansas City’s offense bogged down on the next two drives and settled for Spencer Shrader field goals.
First, an 11-play drive petered out inside the Carolina 10-yard line, leading to a 25-yard field goal, while penalties — three of them — short-circuited a 14-play drive that ended with a 41-yard field goal.
But late in the first half, the Chiefs found the end zone again on another long, methodical drive.
Mahomes engineered a 14-play, 92-yard drive capped by an 11-yard TD strike to Gray, who notched his second consecutive two-touchdown game.
“Pat made a great throw,” Reid said. “He made a nice move at the top of it (the route), Pat put it up where only he could get it and Noah used his body well to protect the ball.”
On the drive, Mahomes went 6 of 8 for 59 yards and added a 13-yard scramble. He finished the first half 19 of 24 for 207 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Kansas City had more than double the number of first downs (16-7) and outgained Carolina 268-179, including a 79-16 advantage on the ground.
The Chiefs had nearly 20 minutes of possession but only led 20-9 after three Eddy Pineiro field goals because Carolina gashed Kansas City’s defense for nearly 7.5 yards per snap in the first half.
Mahomes and the Chiefs scored on six of eight drives overall, their first five possessions and the final game-winning one.
SCARY INJURY FOR ROOKIE TE
There was a scary moment with 20 seconds left in the second quarter when Carolina’s rookie tight end, Ja’Tavion Sanders, was strapped to a board and carted off the field after suffering an apparent neck injury.
Sanders made a catch along the sideline and was fighting for a first down when he was upended as Trent McDuffie made a tackle.
Linebacker Drue Tranquill, who was rushing over to help McDuffie, appeared to hit an airborne Sanders, which sent him head down into the ground with his neck at an odd angle.
Sanders — a 6-foot-4, 252-pound fourth-round pick from Texas last spring — rolled over onto his knees after spiking his head into the ground, but he never tried to get to his feet before medical personnel rushed to his side.
At halftime, Panthers coach Dave Canales said Sanders was moving all his limbs, but his back tightened up so he was immobilized and carted off for evaluation at a local hospital as a precaution. He suffered a concussion on the play, according to CBS Sideline Reporter Evan Washburn.
INJURY UPDATE
Early in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs announced that backup tight end Peyton Hendershot was questionable to return with a calf injury.
Kansas City acquired Hendershot from Dallas in late August for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2026. He was added to the active roster after rookie Jared Wiley landed on injured reserve with a torn ACL.
Reid said after the game that it was a cramp and that he was able to return.
UP NEXT
Kansas City returns to the friendly confines of GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for a Black Friday showdown against the Las Vegas Raiders, who spoiled Christmas for Chiefs Kingdom in its last visit to Kansas City.
The game, which will air nationwide on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service, can be seen locally on KSHB 41 News.
The Chiefs beat the Raiders 27-20 on Oct. 27 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Kansas City’s defense allowed only 33 rushing yards and Mahomes went 27 of 38 for 262 yards, including 10 completions for 90 yards to Travis Kelce, with two touchdowns and an interception in the victory.
The Chiefs should have running back Isiah Pacheco and defensive end Charles Omenihu back for the game.
WAS TAYLOR SWIFT AT THE GAME?
Taylor Swift was emotional Saturday after wrapping up the Toronto leg of The Eras Tour with a sixth sold-out show during the last two weeks, but she didn’t immediately hop on a plane for Charlotte.
The tour goes on hiatus for Thanksgiving before it wraps up with three shows, Dec. 6-8, in Vancouver.
Swift, who started dating Travis Kelce last summer, has attended all of the Chiefs’ home games this season — wins against Baltimore, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Tampa Bay and Denver — but has yet to appear at a road game in 2024.
Kansas City is 15-3 during the last two seasons with Swift in attendance, including a 10-game win streak dating back to late last season.
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