CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers are trying their best to emulate last seasons Kansas City Chiefs.To do that, they must beat this seasons Chiefs on Sunday.The 2015 Chiefs did what 90 other NFL teams since 1990 had failed to do -- rebound from a 1-5 start to make the playoffs. They did it by running the table, winning their final 10 regular-season games.Carolina started 1-5 this season. But it has won two games since the bye week and there is a renewed sense of confidence and momentum. Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he shared the Chiefs story with his team a couple of weeks ago, telling them there is hope.Its been done before, Rivera said.Last years league MVP Cam Newton believes the Panthers have what it takes to bounce back.The seasons not over yet, Newton said. ... Were right where we want to be. Were in a position to compete and challenge teams and they know that.It wont be easy.The Chiefs are riding a four-game winning streak and have won 16 of their last 18 regular season games.Rivera said he briefly thought about calling Reid, whom he worked under as an assistant coach in Philadelphia, to get some advice, but thought better of it knowing the Chiefs were coming up on the schedule.If theres anybody that can turn things around for the NFC champions it would seem to be Newton. Although the Panthers started last season 14-0, they are typically slow starters -and strong finishers -- under the 2011 No. 1 pick. Newton has won 72 percent (31-12) of the games hes started from November through January, as opposed to 42 percent (17-24-1) in September and October.ALEX RETURNS: Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith is back under center after missing last weeks game against Jacksonville with a head injury. Smith was never diagnosed with a concussion, but two hard hits he sustained in Indianapolis left him woozy on the field, and Reid decided early last week that sitting out a game would be in Smiths best interest.Nick Foles started in his place.I felt really good regardless, Smith said. Thankfully Nick and the rest of the guys got the W, thats what is most important. Obviously I was doing everything I could to try and help in whatever way it is. Im pumped and happy to get back and get going this week.FORD TOUGH: Chiefs pass rusher Dee Ford was a teammate with Newton at Auburn. Newton remembers it well.Hes always had that professional sense that you had to respect, and I saw that at Auburn, and its just great to see hard work pay off, Newton said.The Chiefs only have 16 sacks this season and nine of those belong to Ford. The 2014 first-round pick was largely considered a bust before coming on late last year, and hes been crucial as the Chiefs await Justin Houstons return from knee surgery. And 5 1-2 of those sacks have come in the last two weeks.I think hes very comfortable with the defense now, Reid said. Its a fairly complicated defense, but hes got a pretty good grasp of it. I think hes probably gotten stronger since weve gotten him. I think hes spent a ton of time in that weight room. Hes got himself in shape to where he can do this back-to-back thing.HOUSTON, WE HAVE NO PROBLEM: Chiefs linebacker Houston makes his first return to the lineup this week after recovering from a knee injury last season. The four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher was removed from the physically unable to perform list earlier this week, but has not played in a game since having surgery to repair his left ACL in February.SACK ATTACK: Carolina is getting after the QB. The Panthers have a dozen sacks in their last two games, matching their total from the first six games. A big part of that is the Panthers playing with the lead and playing less mobile quarterbacks in Carson Palmer and Case Keenum. This week theyll face Smith, who has deceiving speed and athleticism.CENTER OF ATTENTION: Keep an eye on the Panthers center situation. Two-time All-Pro Ryan Kalil and his backup Gino Gradkowski have been held out of practice this week, which means guard Chris Scott could be pressed into duty. Scott has very limited experience playing center, which could make it interesting if the Panthers limit the number of snaps Newton takes from the shotgun.---AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta in Kansas City contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLAP Custom Edgar Martinez Jersey . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Wholesale Custom Mariners Shirts . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. http://www.custommarinersjersey.com/ . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. Custom Mariners T-shirts . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Cheap Mariners Jerseys .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. NEW YORK -- At last years trade deadline, Sandy Alderson fed a big meal to New York Mets fans hungry for a title, acquiring Yoenis Cespedes. This year, the general manager is more likely to add a side of fries.This is the entertainment business, and we talk about steak and sizzle, and I enjoy sizzle as much as anybody, Alderson said before Monday nights game against St. Louis was rained out and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Tuesday.Then he added: I think realistically the bullpen is the area where we can probably get someone who can make a difference at a relatively low cost in terms of prospects.New York was 53-50 at the time of the trade last July 31, trailing Washington by two games in the NL East. Led by Cespedes and boosted by the acquisitions of relievers Tyler Clippard, Eric OFlaherty and Addison Reed, the Mets went 37-22 after the deal to win the division. They reached the World Series for the first time since 2000, only to lose to Kansas City in five games.Cespedes energized the fan base, re-signed and leads the Mets offense with a .299 average, 21 homers and 56 RBI. But New York is in third place and trails division-leading Washington by five games.Even sizzle becomes less sizzling over time, just because it becomes part of the everyday expectation, Alderson said. So I think its unfair to think that he could continue to have that sort of novelty impact as well as performance over a year or year-plus. But hes certainly a significant part of our team at this point and has done everything we could have expected.Without mentioning names, Alderson appeared to downplay the possibility of acquiring Jonathan Lucroy from payroll-paring Milwaukee for Travis dArnaud in a swap of catchers.Im thinking of the same rumors that youre thinking of, that rumor was dead on arrival, he told reporters.Alderson said splashier acquisitions were unrealistic because of high prices.For whatever reason this year, clubs keep asking for the top tier of our system, he said, and were simply not going to move players that we think are going to have a significant role for us in the somewhat near future for the possibility of getting the kind of unique return that we got last year.Third baseman David Wright is out for the yearr following surgery June 16 to repair a herniated disk in his neck, and first baseman Lucas Duda hasnt played since May 20 because of a stress fracture in his lower back.ddddddddddddNew Yorks rotation has been weakened by a season-ending injury to Matt Harvey, who had surgery July 18 to correct Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, which affects blood and nerves near the shoulder. In addition, right-hander Noah Syndergaard and lefty Steven Matz are pitching with elbow bone spurs.Manager Terry Collins hopes for a spark during this nine-game homestand.This is when the good teams take off, he said, and we need to take off.ROTATIONSyndergaard (9-4) and the Cardinals Carlos Martinez (9-6) were pushed back a day and still start Tuesdays opener, scheduled for 4:10 p.m. The Mets Bartolo Colon (8-5) and St. Louis Jaime Garcia (7-6), who had been scheduled to pitch Tuesday, will start the second game. Less than an hour after Mondays game was called off, the rain stopped and a rainbow appeared over the ballpark.WHEELERAlderson projects right-hander Zack Wheeler could return in late August from Tommy John surgery but said thats a little bit speculative. Wheeler had elbow reconstruction on March 25 last year.WALKERSecond baseman Neil Walker was not in the starting lineup for the second straight day. He is hitting .155 (9 for 58) in July with eight RBI, dropping his season average to .239.We talked about just taking a couple of days to mentally kind of hit restart, he said.Collins has not detected any great mechanical problems with Walkers swing.Mental fatigue can lead to physical fatigue, and so the swings can start to get a little long, which we see, and even though they think theyre not tired, they dont feel tired, they are tired, he said. When your mind starts to fade, youre in trouble.WRIGHTWrights wife Molly gave birth Saturday to a girl, Olivia Shea Wright, who weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces. The middle name matches that of the Mets former ballpark, Shea Stadium. In August 2004, Atlantas Chipper Jones named his newborn son Shea Logan Jones after the ballpark, where Jones hit his first big league home run. ' ' '