CHARLOTTE — The world is giving the Panthers credit Monday for what they almost did to the Chiefs Sunday.

In Panthers head coach Dave Canales' world, the almost (but not quite) is the part that matters more, and the Chiefs part far less.

Canales has tried to divorce the team's expectations from the opponent, which means forcing yourself to look at your own film critically and at the output without the context of being against the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.

"Yeah, I try not to make it about the opponent," Canales said Monday. "It's got to be about us. It's got to be about our fundamentals and our execution, the things we're counting on, the consistency of play. And we have to be able to go through it and tell the truth about the things that we did well and the things that we didn't and just go right back to the basics, which has been the message the whole season, and I know that that always works.

"That's always a place that we should go, is let's go inwards with our focus in terms of what we can improve upon and the things that we can build on, that we had success with."

Of course, there's a human element at play, too, when you look across the other sideline and see guys such as Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. But Canales has tried to drill into his team that these are the kinds of situations they want to be in, so they have to treat every game the same.

"Hopefully, it becomes kind of the normal message from me to the team," Canales said. "We're going to look at the things that we can control first and foremost, and we can't control what opponent shows up here or that we go to play.

Those are the teams that we're focused on playing from a schematic standpoint. But, it really does just come back to our execution. And making sure that we're making those plays and trusting each other in those critical moments."

Both Canales and quarterback Bryce Young leaned into the "no moral victories" aspect when they spoke to the team after the game and left tackle Ikem Ekwonu said those messages resonated with the team, regardless of the opponent.

"You know, obviously, the Chiefs are a great team," Ekwonu said. "But I think coach Canales and Bryce also made great points by not taking any moral victories. At the end of the day, we didn't get it done against that team despite what the narrative might have been about underdogs, all that sort of stuff. At the end of the day, we're in the same National Football League and we didn't get it done against a good team.

"So the focus next week just becomes what can we do to fix those mistakes, what can I do as a player? What can we do as a team to make sure we win from here on out?"

Sanders back in the facility, under evaluation

The Panthers received good news, all things considered, on tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders. The rookie suffered a neck injury on Sunday, resulting from Sanders landing on the crown of his head while flipping out of bounds. He was taken to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center at halftime and was released by games end.

"Right now, what it appears is that we avoided a really, pretty bad injury, you know, based on the nature of the play," Canales shared Monday.

Sanders will stay under further evaluation though, given the location of the injury.

"It is a neck injury. He's here, he's in the building, he's getting worked on. We're still evaluating all of that," Canales said.

"We're going to have to take that all the way till Wednesday to see what his availability might be for this week. But, again, that's something that we have to still be really, really, diligent about, in terms of collecting all the information and data that we have with the nature of the injury."

Surviving the blitz

The Chiefs did their best to keep Young in a blender all day Sunday. The second-year passer faced the highest rate of his career, blitzed on 40 percent of his dropbacks. But Young, who took sacks in the past in those moments, went 11-14 for 123 yards and a touchdown.

"It's just the ownership of the concepts first and foremost," Canales said as to the growth in Young. "Having answers for different pressures. 'Where am I going with this ball if they do this?' Going through all of those, 'what if' scenarios."

Canales and coaches worked with Young this offseason on embedding an internal clock, wanting to get the ball out around 2.7 seconds, or move on to the next progression by then. For that to happen, receivers have to be in place as well. Adam Thielen (3 catches, 57 yards) returned on Sunday, but Jalen Coker was sidelined with injury, meaning David Moore stepped up, pulling in six receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Xavier Legette pulled in four catches for 56 yards, including a long of 34 yards.

It all worked together to give Young and the offense one of their best performances of the year, against a Top 5 defense no less.

"On top of that, knowing he's got guys out there that he can trust and Xavier's growth, having Thielen back, David Moore out there, JT adding his things, you know, Tommy had a nice catch on a third down," Canales noted.

"Knowing that the guys are continuing to be on the same page, gives him that confidence to play fast. He was able to get to a couple of scrambles and pick up some yards that way in some different situations. And I think all of those decisions happen faster, the more confident and comfortable you are with the system and the guys as they work together. So, it's a really a tribute to the whole group."

Red zone woes

On one hand, the Panthers scored on all six of their trips to the red zone on Sunday against the Chiefs. On the other hand, only two of those times were touchdowns.

"Offensively, I would say that, a couple of missed opportunities, some near misses on a couple of throws," Canales offered Monday as to what some of the issues were in the red zone against Kansas City.

On the season, the Panthers offense has gone 18-31 in the redzone.

"I think those are things that we continue to improve on just with time on task," Canales continued, "and just continue to grow the chemistry between Bryce and between the wide receivers. I think the Chiefs defense, they rushed us really well down there and they played some nice coverages and compliments to the things that we did.

"So, they made it challenging as well and that's kind of life in the red zone."

On the opposite side of the ball, the defense also held the Chiefs to two touchdowns in the redzone, 2-5 overall. For the season, opponents have gone 30-47 against the Panthers in the red zone, as the Panthers have built on a bend but don't break defense.

While holding Mahomes and the Chiefs to 2-5 in the most important area of the field is a positive, letting some of those scores come easily is what the Panthers are addressing this week.

"We kept them to field goals early on, but they got that two-minute touchdown right there at the end of the half," Canales noted. "They had a nice drive down there on a third and long and came up with a nice throw and catch for a touchdown, which was one that ended up being a difference in the game there. So I think it's just sustaining that part."