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By the numbers
0: Total yards by Chiefs in first quarter
3: Passes batted down by Panthers defensive in line in first half (Charles Johnson, Darwin Walker, Maake Kemoeatu).
9: Straight quarters for Panthers without allowing a touchdown.
196: Fewer rushing yards for Chiefs RB Larry Johnson vs. Panthers than what he had last week against Denver, when he had 198.
Notes
The Panthers showed an offensive wrinkle in the first quarter when the ball was snapped directly to DeAngelo Williams , who gained 4 yards. Quarterback Jake Delhomme was lined up wide right on the play.
The Chiefs have two young players from NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) schools in the Carolinas. Rookie defensive end Brian Johnston played at Gardner-Webb and backup quarterback Tyler Thigpen played at Coastal Carolina and is from Winnsboro, S.C.
Thigpen - who completed 5-of-10 passes for 37 yards in mop-up duty Sunday -- is a college teammate of Panthers safety Quinton Teal . The former Chanticleers visited each other at the Chiefs hotel Saturday night.
"It's not awkward," Thigpen said of playing against Teal. "It's exciting to know he's working his tail off and has made it into the NFL as well."
Kansas City's Tony Gonzalez had a landmark day. His 6-yard reception in the first quarter moved him past Shannon Sharpe as the NFL's all-time yardage leader for a tight end.
Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers had a sack and now has 3.0 for the season, exceeding his career-low 2.5 from last season.
Panthers inactives: QB Matt Moore , R/KR Ryne Robinson , S Quinton Teal , LB James Anderson , OT Jordan Gross , OT Jeff Otah , R Dwayne Jarrett , DT Gary Gibson . Chiefs inactives: QB Brodie Croyle , QB Ingle Martin , LB Napolean Harris , LB Donnie Edwards , G Brian De La Puente , T Branden Albert , R Mark Bradley , DT T.J. Jackson .
Observations
The game's most vicious stiff-arm was administered by Panthers receiver Steve Smith , who gave Chiefs defensive back Brandon Carr a whack when Carr tried to tackle him in the second half. Smith didn't go down until Bernard Pollard tackled him.
Carolina's Rhys Lloyd boomed a kickoff in the second quarter, then ran and hugged teammate Dante Curry . Seems that Curry had dared Lloyd to kick it into the stands, which he did. But Lloyd, who entered the game leading the league in touchbacks and had two more Sunday, had an advantage: He kicked it from the 45 rather than the 30 because of a Chiefs penalty on the previous play.
Freudian slip of the day: Referee Terry McAulay referred to the Chiefs once as "Kansas Cily," which came out sounding like "Kansas Silly," which is pretty much how the Chiefs looked all day.
Quoting
"I'm puzzled, too." - Chiefs coach Herm Edwards on how his team could play so well last week against Denver and so poorly against the Panthers.
"I think somebody has put a hex on our secondary." - Safety Ken Lucas , on the number of missed interceptions the Panthers had because of dropped balls.
"It's different." - Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme on winning a second-straight game by a wide margin.
