CHARLOTTE —When Patrick Mahomes was a quarterback at Texas Tech, tearing up defenses and terrorizing Big 12 teams, making a name for himself that has only grown, a name came across his desk that he's never forgotten.

Bryce Young.

"I think Texas Tech was the first one to offer him when he was in eighth grade, and I was at Texas Tech," Mahomes recalled Sunday, following the Panthers vs. Chiefs game. "I remember watching his highlight tapes then. Knew he was going to be a great player.

"I was hoping to be out of there before he got there," he joked, of feeling threatened by the young Young all those years ago. "He's been a great player for a long time and won a lot of football games."

On Sunday, Mahomes won the matchup, a 30-27 thriller that went down to the wire, as he has been prone to do often since being drafted by the Chiefs in 2017. But once again, the two-time MVP saw a player a few years his junior and knew the future was bright.

"I thought he played his tail off. He throws a really good football," Mahomes said of Young's performance. "It's been cool to see him bounce back the last few weeks and play some great football. I know he has it because I've seen it for a long time. He gave us a scare today because he played his tail off."

Playing his tail off was going 21-35 for 263 yards and a touchdown through the air, plus three carries for 34 total yards (20 net). The former No. 1 overall pick has played one game that was statistically better—against the Packers last season—but Sunday's performance was against a Chiefs defense that came into the day ranked in the Top 5.

In case you've been hiding under a rock and missed the hoopla, Young was sidelined for five weeks with Andy Dalton starting, a part of Dave Canales' plan for the former Heisman winner to catch his breath, something he had not done since arriving in the NFL. The respite seemingly paid off, with time to watch the veteran Dalton learn Canales' playbook more and prepare to step back in following Dalton's car wreck that injured his throwing thumb.

"I think he did a heck of a job," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said following Sunday's game of Young. "Well coached. He's lucky to have that redhead over there, No. 14, too, to help him out. Nothing like a veteran player that kind of sees it the same way you do. Then he's very talented, and the organization made a nice move by taking him."

Reid, objectively considered one of the best offensive minds in the game, went on to highlight others that jumped off the tape to him as well, starting with Chuba Hubbard: "He's another good player in there" and adding of Jonathon Brooks: "They were able to get their young guy in there too. We were very aware of him and his ability."

And more of the offense: "You've got to deal with the quarterback too, and the wide receivers Adam Thielen came back. Xavier Legette, he's just getting better and better as he goes."

It may be misleading to pin too much meaning to something another NFL coach said about an opponent right after the game. Still, there's also something to be said for this coming from the back-to-back and reigning Super Bowl champs.

There's also something to be said for Reid and his offense and culture being the model, an insight into Canales' plan that he has offered time and time again since arriving in January. Following Sunday's close loss, Canales again pointed to how the Chiefs and Reid finished the game as an example of what he wants the Panthers to be.

"Just watching him for years and just to see it firsthand, the patience that it shows and just the right calls to his group of guys," Canales said of what he learned facing off with Reid. "Using different personnel, using the strengths and talents that they have is really what I admire the most about coach Reid, and that he's got a group that just finds a way. They just keep finding a way to win, which is a sign of a great team."

A team cannot subsist on close losses, though, and platitudes from opposing teams—even the defending champions—are just that. It's why Canales and Young, appreciative as they are of the words from their counterparts, will take them in, internalize them and then look back in the mirror. They know who they want to be and saw a blueprint to make it happen up close on Sunday. Now, it's about building their own culture.

"Coach said in the locker room there aren't moral victories. It's the NFL. At the end of the day, we lost. We didn't do enough to get it done. That stings with everyone in the locker room," Young said following the loss. "We want to win on Sundays. That's why we play the games and, again, we didn't do enough to get it done today. So, right now, that's what we all feel in the locker room. There's all stuff we wish we could get back.

"We all felt like it was close. We just got to keep going, and that's really where it is now, and then when we start preparing and analyzing, we come back and talk about it. That's when you let those emotions go to the side, and then it's just about learning and growing."