Chiefs Defense Will Rebound And Be Stingy Against Panthers

Chiefs vs. Panthers, 1:00 ET

I bet on a lot of stuff. Hockey, baseball, college football, college basketball, NBA, and NFL. That's a lot to keep track of, and two of the biggest are the last two I've mentioned, the NBA and the NFL. On a few of the Outkick Bets podcasts, I've said the spread doesn't matter. I mention it because I look at a game as either a blowout from one team or an outright loss. However, in football, the spread almost always matters. Luckily for us, I'm going to avoid a gamble on the game between the Chiefs and Panthers and take a play on the total instead. 

The Chiefs are coming off of a loss. I know, shocking, right? They actually lost a game. Yes, the Chiefs were defeated by the Bills in Buffalo last week. This isn't all that surprising of a loss even though I was on the wrong side of that game. The Chiefs were underdogs but played well enough. The defense, which has carried the team all season long, kind of failed the team in allowing Josh Allen to scramble for a touchdown late in the game. That essentially sealed the victory for Buffalo. The Chiefs were down too much with too little time remaining, so even when Patrick Mahomes threw an interception to fully end the game, it just officially sealed the deal. This week the Chiefs can bounce back against the Panthers. The Carolina defense is among the worst in the game and the offense will be no match for the Chiefs' defense that is looking to rebound off of a loss. 

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 15: Quarterback Bryce Young #9 of the Carolina Panthers reacts during the second half of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Bank of America Stadium on September 15, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

The Panthers could be sneaky good in this game. Okay, maybe good is a bit of an overstatement here. The Panthers are 3-7 and going nowhere this season, but there does seem to be a little air of excitement around them over the past few weeks. Why? Well, Bryce Young is back under center and has actually looked pretty good in the two games he has played, both Panthers wins. They were able to beat the Saints with a 23-22 win, and then beat the Giants in overtime of the Germany game. This was as much the Giants fault as it was the work of the Panthers, but still, a win is hard to come by so celebrate it while you can. They've had two weeks to prepare for this one, but that doesn't mean they are going to somehow magically stop the Chiefs altogether. The reality is that the Chiefs offense just isn't that great.

There are some games that you look at and go, well, we know the clear winner of this one. It would take a miracle or an injury to allow the Panthers to beat the Chiefs. I can't confidently say that the Chiefs are going to win this game by 12 points though. It wouldn't surprise me to see them win by 7, 10, 14, 21, or any other number above seven. However, what would shock me is to see the Panthers offense to be successful against this defense. I think the total for 43.5 is too high though, I don't see Kansas City racking up points and the Panthers should score two touchdowns or fewer (under 15.5 team total would be a good look as well). Kareem Hunt will also score the first touchdown of the game.