The Carolina Panthers are trying to stay step for step with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, and the task just got a little but more difficult. Rookie tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders was carted off the field on a board after landing directly on his head after a catch in the second quarter.

Sanders did move his arms on his way off the field, so that is an early positive sign for the rookie. Shortly after the injury, Sanders was taken to a Charlotte hospital and ruled out for the remainder of the game, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

At the time of the injury, Sanders was leading the Panthers in both catches and receiving yards on Sunday. He was making his presence felt in the first half with three catches for 49 yards.

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Even before his strong performance on Sunday, Sanders was making an impact in the Panthers' passing game. Entering Sunday, Sanders had caught 26 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown.

While the overall stats are solid, Sanders has been building momentum as the season has gone along. The former University of Texas star had 87 yards on four catches in a win against the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 3. The following week, he found the end zone for the first time in his career in Munich against the New York Giants.

That upward momentum has been shared across the Panthers offense during the month of November. Young is playing the best football of his young career over the last few weeks, and rookie wide receiver Xavier Legette has started to emerge as a key piece of this offense moving forward.

The running game has also been effective recently, as Chuba Hubbard earned himself a new contract extension due to his strong play as of late. Sanders is a key piece to this offensive ecosystem, so the Panthers will hope to have him back on the field very soon.