CHARLOTTE —If there's one word Dave Canales wants to embody his team, it's finish.

He preaches it each day at practice, throughout each game, and notes it in his postgame speeches when the Panthers do win.

On Sunday, Canales saw the kind of finish he wants to define his team. It just happened to be in the opponent, as the Chiefs drove downfield for a game-winning walk-off field goal.

"What I admire the most about coach (Andy) Reid, that he's got a group that just finds a way," Canales noted Sunday following the Panthers 30-27 loss to the Chiefs. "They just keep finding a way to win, which is a sign of a great team."

The Panthers are hoping to be that great team again and have made strides to get there. Going toe-to-toe with the defending champs on Sunday, for at least a period of time at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, it looked like the Panthers were going to "finish" once again.

The defense forced two back-to-back stops with sacks (Mahomes was sacked five times total, by a team with just 12 in the first 10 games) leading to the only punts of the day from Kansas City. That allowed the Panthers offense to go down the field and score, plus add a two-point conversion to tie the game with a little over a minute-and-a-half remaining.

"We came together, we were like, man, we got to bow up. We can't keep letting them drive down our throat the whole game," outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum shared of the huddle before those two drives ending with sacks from himself and Jadeveon Clowney on one drive, and Jaycee Horn on another. "We knew it was a big in the game where we had to get off the field, we brought it up, we talked to one another, 'Yo, let's get off the field' and we did it."

In that respect, Canales saw the fight and finish he wants from his team.

"Love the way we finished; love the way the defense gave us the ball back twice there. We had that three-and-out the second to last drive and then we were able to make something happen on the last drive there to go down and tie it up," Canales said.

But it wasn't enough, which is why he quickly added, "But we've got to finish. We have to, that's got to be the standard for what we do."

The Chiefs have been in these games for the past few years, leading to four Super Bowl appearances in the past five years, winning three rings. Giving the two-time league MVP the ball back with 1:46 left on the clock is always a little risky, and on Sunday, Mahomes proved he knows how to finish a game with style.

It's why there were no moral victory vibes for the Panthers walking off the field.

Asked how it felt, Jaycee Horn responded perfunctorily: "Ass."

There were moments in the game as well, that could have led to an easier finish for the Panthers. Carolina's defense gave up 391 total yards and the Chiefs went 8-13 on third down. Kansas City scored on their first five consecutive drives, with three touchdowns and two field goals.

"Defensively third down, they just were able to continue moving the sticks and giving Pat Mahomes and that group more opportunities," Canales said. "Obviously, that makes it really challenging. So, just got to tighten some stuff up there."

Added Horn, "I just feel like we let them off the hook a couple of those third downs, but it is what it is."

Horn was called for four penalties. Two were wiped away with offsetting flags. One was a defensive pass interference on second-down. One was for holding on third down in the red zone. The latter kept the Chiefs drive alive, finishing with a field goal.

"I feel like the defense, we tightened up in the second half and like I said, in the first half, we could have played way better if I wasn't getting PIs or whatever, because I think two or three, I was on third down, we should have been off the field," Horn said.

"But we just got to be better. We played the second half how we wanted to. Limited them a little bit, but you got to be better throughout the fourth quarter."

When the Chiefs took the ball back with under two minutes to play, it looked like the Panthers would be able to force overtime. Instead, from his own 45-yard line, Mahomes scrambled for 33-yards, putting his team in field goal range.

"Rush lane opened up. I got to be better with my rush lanes, probably more speed to power versus edge moves," Wonnum said of the breakdown. "At the end of the day, we're going out there to make plays and win the game, and that's just what we got to do."

Winning the game takes finishing, and as the Panthers continue to build who they want to be, that word will define everything they do. The previous two games saw the Panthers finish, paying off with wins. Sunday against the Chiefs, the finish line was in sight, before Kansas City sprinted by to get their 10^th win.

It was a reminder to the Panthers though, of what can be when they make that final push.

"We just got to figure out how to finish," Wonnum said. "Gave up some big plays during the game. But when we come down to it, we got to finish."