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The 3-5 Carolina Panthers will travel to Arrowhead Stadium in Week 9 to take on the 7-1 Kansas City Chiefs. These two teams are headed in opposite directions at the moment. The Panthers have lost three straight games, while the Chiefs are on a three-game winning streak.
As expected, the Chiefs are favored to win this game since they are arguably the best team in the NFL again with superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes leading the way on offense. Kansas City is trying to become the first team since the 2004 New England Patriots to win back-to-back Super Bowls.
With the Panthers-Chiefs game almost here and basically every pundit picking Kansas City to win, let's take a look at four bold predictions for the contest from a Carolina perspective.
1. Teddy Bridgewater throws one touchdown, two interceptions
In his first season with the Panthers, Teddy Bridgewater has been rather mediocre. He's thrown for 2,106 yards and nine touchdowns. The 27-year-old is completing 71.6 percent of his passes, but Bridgewater has six interceptions on the season and most of them have come at the worst possible times.
The Chiefs' defense is allowing only 19.0 points per game on the season, which is good for third in the NFL. We can see Bridgewater throwing one touchdown and two interceptions in this game. He has three interceptions over his last three games against the Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons.
The Panthers will likely have to abandon their run game and pass the ball a lot to keep up with the Chiefs' high-powered offense. With that being said, look for Bridgewater to be a little erratic with his throws and reads and get picked off twice by Kansas City's secondary.
2. Panthers allow Le'Veon Bell to score first TD with Chiefs
In two games with the Chiefs, Le'Veon Bell has carried the ball 12 times for 46 yards. The former Pittsburgh Steelers star running back didn't score his first touchdown with the Chiefs in Week 8 against his old team, the New York Jets. That probably irritated Bell since his short stint with the Jets was awful.
Against the Panthers, who are 20th in the NFL on defense in rushing yards allowed, we have Bell reaching the end zone for the first time with the Chiefs. Mahomes and Kansas City head coach Andy Reid are motivated to get Bell on track before the playoffs start and what better way to keep his spirits up by getting him in the end zone at Arrowhead Stadium.
Bell has faced the Panthers once before. He carried the ball 21 times for 147 yards back on September 21st, 2014 as a member of the Steelers. Bell didn't score a touchdown that game, so the 28-year-old has to be motivated to reach the end zone in Week 9 for the first time ever against the Panthers franchise.
3. Panthers fail to force a turnover on defense
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The Chiefs are rolling on offense right now behind Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce. However, they have turned the ball over in five straight games coming into the Panthers contest.
Mahomes has only thrown one interception on the season. We have the Panthers' defense failing to force a turnover in Week 9 against the Chiefs. Although Carolina has forced a turnover in every game this season except for Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders, Matt Rhule's group has yet to face an offensive juggernaut like the Chiefs, who can beat you in so many ways with Mahomes at the controls.
In this game, we can see the Chiefs scoring more than 30 points.
4. Panthers lose to Chiefs to drop to 3-6
The Panthers have no shot at beating the Chiefs in Week 9. Carolina will lose this game for its fourth straight defeat and drop to 3-6 on the season.
We still don't know if Panthers workhorse Christian McCaffrey will play in this game. He suffered a right high-ankle sprain in Week 2 and was shifted to the Injured Reserve/Designated for Return list. Even if McCaffrey plays against the Chiefs, he's not going to be 100 percent since high-ankle sprains are tough injuries to recover from quickly.
The Panthers just don't have an explosive enough offense to keep up with the Chiefs, who are averaging 31.6 points per game on the season. Look for Kansas City to come out firing early in the game and try and put the Panthers out of their misery before halftime even rolls around.
Rhule is a good head coach and he's going to be successful with the Panthers during his tenure. However, his patience will be tested, as we have Carolina not only losing this game but missing the playoffs in the NFC.
