In a year full of chaotic game endings, the Kansas City Chiefs have been the best in the league at coming out on top. Despite their Week 12 matchup with the Carolina Panthers turning out to be a surprising nail-biter, Patrick Mahomes pulled his team to victory once again.

After Bryce Young and Chuba Hubbard tied the game with less than two minutes remaining, Mahomes took the Chiefs back down the other end, highlighting another game-winning drive with a 33-yard scramble to get Kansas City into field goal range. The run was just one of his several key scrambles in the game as he ended the contest with 60 rushing yards.

A few plays later, rookie kicker Spencer Shrader did the rest, nailing the 31-yard field goal as time expired to move the Chiefs to 10-1. Shrader, the team's interim kicker with Harrison Butker currently on IR, was a perfect 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts in the game and 3-for-3 on extra points.

Since signing with the team following Butker's injury, Shrader has yet to miss a kick in two games. The 25-year-old rookie is already with his third organization of 2024 after previous stints with the Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets.

Mahomes and Shrader will steal all the headlines but were not the only heroes of the game for the Chiefs. Backup tight end Noah Gray put together his second straight two-touchdown performance while also leading the team with 66 receiving yards, while Samaje Perine gave the team a boost on special teams as a kick returner.

 

Chiefs pick up fourth straight one-possession victory

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If there is anything nobody can deny about the Chiefs through 12 weeks, it is that they have the strongest case of being the best in the league at winning close games. Despite their league-best 10-1 record — tied with the Detroit Lions — it can be argued that they are not the best team in the NFL, but nobody else is better than them at winning close games.

Before their loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 11, Kansas City memorably stole a victory from the jaws of defeat against the Denver Broncos with a blocked field goal in the closing seconds. The week before, Mahomes led the Chiefs to an overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in prime time.

The Chiefs' string of one-possession victories goes back to Week 8 when the defending champions topped the Las Vegas Raiders by a final score of 27-20. Overall, all but one of Kansas City's wins in 2024 have come by eight points or less.

Repeated dominance has fatigued fans to the point of despising the Chiefs and criticizing their victories but it does not change the fact that they continue to be the best in crunch time.