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Three Keys for a Chiefs Win Against the Panthers

The Kansas City Chiefs are one game away from their bye week. As their contest with the Carolina Panthers nears, what do they need to do to make sure they only take one loss into the off-week?

The Kansas City Chiefs are one game away from their bye week. As their contest with the Carolina Panthers nears, what do they need to do to make sure they only take one loss into the off-week?

All Panthers' Schuyler Callihan joined me on today's episode of Roughing the Kicker to break down the matchup.

It more than likely won't be a close game as the Vegas odds have the Chiefs favored by 12.5 points but here's what Kansas City needs to do to make sure the game isn't close.

1. Get off the field on third down.

Kansas City kind of struggled with this in the first half of last week's game against the New York Jets. The visitors were able to get three field goals on their first three drives but they tightened up in the second half. The defense holding Carolina to field goals should be the bare minimum. I would like to see Tyrann Mathieu and Co. wreak some havoc this week and dominate on defense.

2. Convert on third down.

The Chiefs have been oddly bad on third downs in the past couple of games. Against the Broncos, Kansas City was unable to move the sticks on third downs. Last week the Chiefs were better in that category but they were playing the Jets. With the Panthers coming to town, Kansas City should move the ball with ease but giving having long drives early will whittle away Carolina's confidence and help the Chiefs cruise to a win.

3. Don't beat themselves.

It's starting to show that teams can only beat the Chiefs when they beat themselves too. Patrick Mahomes only has one interception on the year and he needs to keep it that way if the Chiefs are going to continue dominating teams. Turnovers and dumb penalties will be an area of emphasis heading into the game. While it hasn't been a problem, keeping it that way will be important.

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