Here is who national experts are predicting will win Chiefs-Panthers game
It’s been eight years since the Carolina Panthers last visited Arrowhead Stadium.
On Dec. 2, 2012, the Chiefs held off the Panthers 27-21 at Arrowhead thanks to touchdowns from Peyton Hillis, Tony Moeaki and Jonathan Baldwin. It was quarterback Brady Quinn’s only victory that season for the Chiefs.
So yeah, it’s been a while.
The Panthers, 3-5, are back in Kansas City for Sunday’s game, which kicks off at noon and will be broadcast on Fox (Ch. 4).
Fifty-eight experts from around the nation made predictions for the contest. Here are the picks and what they’re saying about the game.
The Chiefs will win say both Mike Florio and Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. Smith predicted a 35-20 final. This is what he wrote: “The Chiefs will run away with a big home win over a Panthers team that is showing some fight but just doesn’t have the talent on its roster to compete with the league’s elite teams.” Florio sees a 34-17 score. He wrote: “Somehow, the defending champions are flying under the radar screen. And they surely like it like that.”
The Chiefs will prevail 34-21 is the prediction from the Sporting News’ Bill Bender. This is a snippet of what he wrote: “Teddy Bridgewater avoided a serious injury in a loss to the Falcons last week, and Christian McCaffrey might be able to return to the lineup. That will help against the Chiefs, but it won’t be enough.”
The Chiefs will win 35-21 says Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com. This is a portion of what he wrote: “The Panthers, who haven’t had their bye, have forced only one punt in their last two games. They make other teams work for their points, but Brian Burns’ breakout season doesn’t provide enough juice up front to make up for the losses of Kawann Short and Yetur Gross-Matos from an already-thin defensive group.”
A Chiefs victory is the prediction from Benjamin Hoffman of the New York Times. Here is part of what he wrote: “The Chiefs (7-1) learned a lesson from their monumental letdown against Las Vegas in Week 5. They followed that loss with a convincing road win against the Bills and have won consecutive blowouts, beating the Broncos and the Jets by a combined score of 78-25. That dominance has forced Patrick Mahomes into the M.V.P. debate with Seattle’s Russell Wilson and made it clear that Kansas City is a legitimate threat to successfully defend last year’s Super Bowl win.”
The Chiefs will win 34-21 says Yardbarker’s Chris Mueller. This is an excerpt of what he wrote: “The Panthers are slightly better than average defensively and slightly worse than average offensively. The problem is that the defense is playing worse than that of late, and the offense isn’t picking up the slack.”
In his picks based on the betting line, Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports wrote: “I hate taking double-digit favorites in the NFL, but here’s what I hate even more: Betting against Patrick Mahomes and that offense.”
Each of the eight CBS Sports writers think the Chiefs will win: Jason La Canfora, Pete Prisco, John Breech, Will Brinson, Ryan Wilson, Dave Richard, Jared Dubin and Jamey Eisenberg. Prisco sees a 37-21 final. This is what he wrote: “The Chiefs will have an offensive explosion again here against the Carolina defense. Even with Christian McCaffrey likely back, it won’t matter.”
All 10 experts at ESPN see a Chiefs victory: Matt Bowen, Mike Clay, Dan Graziano, Mina Kimes, Jason Reid, Laura Rutledge, Kevin Seifert, Trey Wingo, Damien Woody and Seth Wickersham.
All seven experts at USA Today think the Chiefs will win: Jarrett Bell (34-13 final score), Nate Davis (34-22), Jori Epstein (33-20), Mike Jones (29-26), Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz (38-19), Lorenzo Reyes (29-24) and Tom Schad.(38-24).
A Chiefs win is the prediction from all six Sports Illustrated Monday Morning Quarterback writers: Connor Orr, Gary Gramling, Mitch Goldic, Albert Breer, Andrew Brandt and Jenny Vrentas.
All 10 members of the Dallas Morning-News picked the Chiefs: Tim Cowlishaw, Michael Gehlken, Dana Larson, Damon Marx, Craig Miller, David Moore, John Owing, Newy Scruggs, Kevin Sherrington and Calvin Watkins.
A Chiefs victory is predicted by all 10 SB Nation writers: Kyle Posey, James Dator, Alexis Chassen, Pete Sweeney, RJ Ochoa, Jenna Thomas, Ed Valentine, Brandon Lee Gowton, David Fucillo and Ameer Tyree.
This story was originally published November 8, 2020 at 7:18 AM.
