Patrick Mahomes finished with 372 yards passing and four touchdowns, most of that offense going to Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, and the Chiefs survived the Panthers’ late comeback attempt for a 33-31 victory when kicker Joey Slye missed a 67-yard field-goal attempt wide right on the final play.
The Chiefs (8-1) were left clinging to the lead when Christian McCaffrey, just back from his ankle injury, scored from a yard out with 1:26 to go. The Panthers’ onside kick was recovered by Kansas City, but they used their three timeouts to get the ball back, and Teddy Bridgewater’s 23-yard pass to Curtis Samuel with 9 seconds remaining gave them hope.
Carolina (3-6) tried to get a bit closer with a pass to McCaffrey, but the incompletion brought on Slye, who had plenty of leg with the wind behind him. His kick dropped just outside the uprights, though, allowing the Chiefs to escape.
Kelce had 10 catches for 159 yards and Hill had nine for 113 and a pair of scores, helping the pass-happy Chiefs climb out of an early 14-3 hole and head into their bye with a bunch of new milestones and a big surge of momentum.
The win was the 230th for Reid, breaking a tie with Hall of Fame coach Curly Lambeau for fifth most in NFL history. It was the 23rd straight game the Chiefs have scored at least 23 points, breaking their own NFL record, and Mahomes beat Hall of Famer Dan Marino’s mark for fewest games to 100 career touchdown passes – Mahomes did it in 40, Marino in 44.
The Chiefs have a bye next week before travelling to Las Vegas on the 22nd.