Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, NC
Kickoff: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Line: Carolina -3.0, Total: 44.0

The Panthers will be looking to creep closer to the .500 mark when they host the surging Chiefs on Sunday.

Kansas City is on fire at the moment, as the Chiefs have won four straight games and five of their past six. Last week, they defeated the Jaguars 19-14 as seven-point home favorites. The game likely would have been a blowout if the Chiefs weren’t dealing with so many injuries. The Panthers, meanwhile, have now won two straight games after being able to rest up during their bye week. Carolina defeated Arizona 30-20 as a 2.5-point home favorite two weeks ago and then followed that game up with a 13-10 victory as a three-point road favorite versus Los Angeles last week. One trend that seriously favors Kansas City in this game is the fact that Andy Reid is 26-9 ATS in road games after a game with a turnover margin of +2 or better in all games he has coached since 1992. The Panthers, however, are 30-10 ATS after playing their most recent game on the road under head coach Ron Rivera. They’re also facing a Chiefs team that is just 11-24 ATS in road games after having won five or six of its past seven games since 1992. QB Alex Smith (Concussion) and RB Spencer Ware (Concussion) are set to return for Kansas City in this game, but the team will likely be without WR Jeremy Maclin (Groin). DE Justin Houston (Knee) is also a question mark, as he is banged up and doesn’t know if he’ll be able to go on Sunday.

QB Alex Smith (1,638 yards, 8 TD, 2 INT) and RB Spencer Ware (511 yards, 2 TD) are both going to play for Kansas City on Sunday and that is big news for the team. The Chiefs struggled to put up points last week, and that was against a lousy Jacksonville defense. That shouldn’t be the case this weekend, as Smith and Ware are huge upgrades over the combination of QB Nick Foles (410 yards, 3 TD) and RB Charcandrick West (178 yards). Smith is one of the more accurate passers in football, and Ware is an incredible playmaker out of the backfield. He is averaging 5.0 YPC on the ground this season, and he has also hauled in 17 passes for 313 yards and a touchdown in the receiving game. Look for Kansas City to get him involved early and often on Sunday. Defensively, the Chiefs are going to need to put pressure on Cam Newton in this one. Newton often makes bad decisions when he is getting blitzed, and CB Marcus Peters (5 INT) will make him pay for any mistakes he makes. Peters is one of the league’s most dangerous corners and he will be hoping to pick Newton off at least once on Sunday.

The Panthers are playing some solid football right now, and the defense has been a huge part of that. Carolina is not giving its opponents anything on the ground, as the team has allowed a total of 73 rushing yards over the past two weeks. That bodes well coming into this matchup, as the Chiefs are a team that gets most of its scoring from the running game. On the other side of the ball, QB Cam Newton (1,773 yards, 9 TD, 6 INT) is going to need to have a big game for the Panthers. Newton has thrown for just one touchdown over the past two contests and it’s hard to imagine Carolina winning without him throwing for at least two in this one. If he isn’t able to throw for two then he’ll need to run the ball effectively. The Panthers don’t have much outside of Newton, so it’s absolutely imperative that he shows up on Sunday. Don’t be surprised if he looks to TE Greg Olsen (45 rec, 673 yards, 3 TD) a bit more often this weekend. Olsen caught five passes for 52 yards and a touchdown against the Rams last week, and he is the most reliable pass-catcher that Newton has at his disposal.