The Panthers defense faces one of its toughest matchups yet.
The Panthers will host the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday in a bout that will see them facing off against a Super Bowl caliber roster. The Chiefs are coming off a 30-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills, that also happens to be their first loss of the season. So not only are the Panthers facing an uphill battle in a vacuum, they will be dealing with a pissed off Chiefs offense where Patrick Mahomes threw 2 interceptions and was held to just under 200 yards passing. The Panthers defense has been improving throughout the season, but this one could get ugly.
Try their best to contain Pat Mahomes
The Panthers defense is one of the worst at rushing the passer, though it appears between the returning edge rusher DJ Wonnum returning two weeks ago and Amare Barno returning to practice, the unit is about as healthy as it can be right now. Still, the Panthers have struggled against QBs who can navigate the pocket and stand tall, and Mahomes can both do that and make plays out of pocket and out of structure. I’m not really sure what to say about the best way to do that, aside from having LBs Trevin Wallace and Josey Jewell play in a spy situation against him. Which, leads into my next point.
Travis Kelce coverage
Travis Kelce started the season off slowly, but has started bouncing back to his usual self as the season progressed. Kelce is also coming off a bad performance, catching only 2 passes for 8 yards, so he will be looking for a get right game as much as the rest of the team. Jaycee Horn will likely be guarding the wide receivers, though the Panthers have shown a tendency to keep him on the tight end side of the formation of the offense motions WRs away. I’m thinking this is going to be a learning game for Wallace as a rookie, since Kelce (even reaching the twilight of his career) is still one of the better tight ends in the league and one of Mahomes favorite weapons. Maybe channel some Thomas Davis vs Jimmy Graham this weekend and get physical with him? Again, not really sure what to say.
Minimize big rushing plays
The Chiefs have leaned a little more on their rushing attack this season than in years past, as their rush play % and rushes per game (per TeamRankings.com) are both in the top half of the league. However, they haven’t been the most effective doing so, as with the injury to Isiah Pacheco has forced the team to lean on Kareem Hunt and Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and they’ve gotten 3.9 yards per rush on the season, which is good for 29th in the league. If there’s one opportunity for Carolina to make this game competitive, they need to lock the rushing attacks down. While they’ve struggled as a unit throughout the season to do so, this is actually a decent matchup for a rush defense that is starting to find some kind of footing. Making the Chiefs one dimensional will help the pass coverage on the back end a great deal.
That’s my breakdown of the Panthers defense this weekend, in a game I am fully expecting the Panthers to win. They just need to do the things I say and they will have it in the bag. What are you watching for on Sunday, Panthers fans?