4 positives from the Carolina Panthers’ Week 9 loss at the Chiefs
By Dean Jones
Run defense
One of the areas that have caused some concern over the last two years is the Carolina Panthers’ run defense. They’ve allowed some significant yardage in recent weeks to play a leading role in their losing streak and it looked like things would continue trending on a downward curve at the Chiefs.
Instead, the defensive front came to play in this particular statistic. The defensive tackle duo of Zach Kerr and Derrick Brown were tough to move off the block all afternoon and ultimately forced the game into the hands of quarterback Patrick Mahomes early on.
Getting off to a good start definitely helped in this regard. The Panthers were up 14-3 at one stage which took some of the pressure off in obvious running situations and allowed them to give up just 30 yards on 12 carries at an average of 2.5.
Kansas City does so much more than pound the ball and this was more than evident in this one. However, with first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the backfield, it is something that they’ve relied more upon during the first half of the season.
It’s easy to criticize this part of the game and most of it has been justified this season and last. But credit where it’s due, they thwarted this threat considerably well and can take great heart from their performance despite falling narrowly short of an upset.