Chiefs-Panthers Postgame Notes
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Chiefs-Panthers Gamebook & Stats

By Patrick Herb

The Chiefs appeared to have a lot going for them Sunday against Carolina. They boasted a raucous Opening Day crowd, a 13-game regular season home winning streak and even a 10-7 halftime lead. But Kansas City couldn’t sustain that momentum, and was outscored 14-0 in the final quarter en route to falling to the Panthers 28-17 at Arrowhead Stadium.

“We had a shot at halftime, I thought, to come out and play better the second half and they did and we didn’t,” head coach Dick Vermeil said after the game.

The Chiefs seemed like they might be poised to post their first victory of the season when CB Eric Warfield gave the Chiefs a 17-14 lead midway through the third quarter. Warfield made a Pro Bowl-caliber INT (his second of the game) when he stepped in front of a pass intended for WR Ricky Proehl and ran it back 43 yards for the touchdown.

That, however would be the last time the Chiefs would celebrate.

“It’s disappointing to start out this way,” Warfield said from a quiet Chiefs locker room. “We have a great team, we’ve got too many great players on this team to be 0-2 right now, but yet we are. We just got to bounce back.” Carolina then answered back with consecutive touchdowns, stretching the lead to 28-17 and spoiling the afternoon for Kansas City fans.

The Chiefs seemed intent on establishing their passing attack early Sunday. After riding Holmes to 151 yards and three TDs last weekend in Denver, Kansas City began the game with six straight pass attempts. Green completed five of those passes for 66 yards, but came up one yard short. Kansas City was forced to settle for a 33-yard Lawrence Tynes field goal when Holmes was stopped on third-and-seven.

Chiefs DT John Browning, who started at defensive end for an injured Vonnie Holliday, got the defensive engine started on the Panthers first drive. Browning ripped through the line and pulled down QB Jake Delhomme for a big loss, forcing a fumble in the process. Carolina recovered the loose ball, but the 16-yard loss moved them out of field goal range and preserved the Chiefs 3-0 lead.

Delhomme and the Carolina offense would make up for it though on their next possession. Behind a 23-yard pass to WR Keary Colbert and a 19-yard reception by RB Nick Goings, the Panthers moved down to the Chiefs two-yard line. On second and goal from the three, Chiefs LB Monty Beisel grabbed Delhomme by the jersey and spun him around, only to see the QB flip a blind pass to TE Kris Mangum for a touchdown.

The offense leaned on Holmes more during their second scoring drive of the afternoon. Holmes pounded out 24 tough yards on the ground before finding the end zone for the fourth time this season. The three-time Pro Bowler somersaulted into the end zone from one-yard out to give Kansas City a 10-7 lead with 12:34 remaining in the first half.

Carolina used a slow and steady drive to retake the lead and open the second half. The Panthers chewed up 8:13 off the clock on 15 plays and capped the drive with a nine-yard TD pass from Delhomme to Colbert.

After Warfield’s INT return score put the Chiefs in front 17-14, the back-and-forth contest was underway.

Carolina came right back with back-to-back touchdown drives. First, Delhomme threw his third TD pass of the game, this time a one-yard pass to TE Mike Seidman, then RB DeShaun Foster scored on a three-yard run.

Carolina dominated the time of possession in the second half and kept the Chiefs defense on the field for much of the third and fourth quarters. In the second half, the Panthers held the ball for 21:01, while Kansas City’s offense worked for just 8:59.

The Chiefs ran just four offensive plays in the third quarter, leaving the defense out on the field for the remainder of the time. Playing spirited and aggressive defense all afternoon, the dam finally broke in the fourth quarter when Foster cut through the line and sprinted 71 yards to the three-yard line. On the next play he finished the job, putting up the touchdown and finishing the day’s scoring.

Kansas City will try to post its first victory of the season next Sunday when the Chiefs host the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff is slated for noon.