CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Cam Newton made a successful return following ankle surgery, Jonathan Stewart ran for two touchdowns and the Carolina Panthers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 28-16 on Sunday night.

Newton completed 4 of 9 passes for 65 yards and led a pair of touchdown drives in the preseason game before exiting late in the second quarter with Carolina (1-1) up 14-6.

Stewart ran for 26 yards on four carries and made a strong case to be the Panthers’ goal-line back — if not their primary ball carrier — with scoring runs of 3 and 2 yards.

Carolina managed just a yard in on its first three possessions before Stewart provided a spark with a 17-yard run. The Panthers scored touchdowns on their next two possessions.

Alex Smith was 14 of 22 for 127 yards for Kansas City (1-1). Rookie Aaron Murray’s first NFL pass resulted in a 43-yard touchdown strike, but he also had an interception.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs broke camp on the campus of Missouri Western on Thursday as they prepared for their second preseason game, and will resume practice at their own facility in Kansas City next week.

Now, the question becomes whether the Chiefs will ever return to St. Joseph, Missouri.

This was the final year of a five-year contract to take training camp roughly an hour’s drive north of Kansas City. Previously, the Chiefs had held training camp in Wisconsin, and the trend in the NFL has been to move camp to the team facility on a permanent basis.

Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said he anticipates a decision by the end of the year, and that he will consider input from general manager John Dorsey and coach Andy Reid.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs offered a preview during recent 11-on-11 training camp practices of what could be in store for unsuspecting quarterbacks this season.

Pro Bowl linebackers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston, first-round draft pick Dee Ford and fellow pass-rusher Josh Martin all trotted onto the field at the same time, leaving defensive tackle Dontari Poe as the lone down lineman in a unique scheme designed to create pressure.

Elsewhere in the NFL, similar personnel groups are known as “NASCAR packages” — the idea is that they overwhelm the opposing offense with their speed.

“We call it the ‘dog front,'” Hali said. “A bunch of dogs going after (the quarterback).”

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The past few years in Kansas City, it’s been Dwayne Bowe and everyone else at wide receiver.

Anyone else, really.

In fact, the Chiefs have basically put out “HELP WANTED” signs for pass catchers going back four head coaches. And the call has been answered by a forgettable cast of characters: Terrance Copper, Devard Darling, Will Franklin, Chris Chambers and Steve Breaston, among many others.

But for the first time since the Dick Vermeil era of the Air Coryell offense, the Chiefs just might have enough talent at the wide receiver position so that quarterback Alex Smith doesn’t fall into a deep state of depression when he steps up in the pocket and looks down field.

Bowe is the unquestionable leader of the group, but Junior Hemingway also has emerged as a big, reliable slot target. De’Anthony Thomas already has proven to be an electrifying playmaker, whether the rookie’s taking a handoff or splitting out wide. And a group that includes Donnie Avery, Kyle Williams, A.J. Jenkins and Frankie Hammond Jr. has all had moments of brilliance.

“All of us, as a unit, as one, we have good chemistry with one another,” Hemingway said this week, “and when we’re out there we can talk to one another through certain situations and things like that, which makes it better for us as receivers.”

Makes it better for Smith, too.

While he put some of the best numbers of his career last year, many of those yards came on dump-offs and short passes that running back Jamaal Charles turned into big plays. Smith hardly had the same kind of big, rangy targets such as Michael Crabtree that he had in San Francisco, and that was a big reason why his average of 6.29 yards per attempt was 29th among 37 quarterbacks who threw enough passes to be ranked.

With a potentially faster, more athletic group of wide receivers this season, Smith hopes to be able to stretch defenses and deliver the ball deeper down the field.

“Our whole receiver crew I think has done an excellent job and had a great offseason. They’ve kept it going in camp with the pads on,” Smith said. “Those guys come out and battle every single day. They get a lot of tough looks; they come out prepared and make a lot of plays.”

The depth was evident in the Chiefs’ preseason opener against Cincinnati. Six different wide receivers were targeted and five caught passes, a significant number considering the four Kansas City quarterbacks only attempted 18 passes in the entire game.

While there is plenty of talent in the group, there is also plenty of inexperience, and that may be the biggest reason why questions still surround the Chiefs’ wide receivers.

Jenkins has only caught eight passes in his first two seasons. Williams has caught 47 balls over four injury-plagued years. Hammond was on the Chiefs’ practice squad a year ago, and Thomas and fellow rookie Albert Wilson are just getting their feet wet in the NFL.

So what exactly is offensive coordinator Doug Pederson looking for in his pass catchers?

“First of all, they have to understand our offense,” he said. “We move them around so much. Dwayne is not always on the outside, he’s on the inside. Tight ends are not always inside; they are outside. Same with running backs. So you look for the mental capacity.

“Having the ability to defeat bump-and-run” is critical,” Pederson continued, “because in the National Football League, you have to defeat bump-and-run first and foremost. And then can they sustain down the field — meaning blocks, routes, top routes, creating separation and understanding coverage. Those types of things create a receiver that we can use in this system.”

The next few weeks will determine just how many wide receivers fit that description. But so far in training camp, the Chiefs appear to have more than in any recent season.

“I’ve seen some good things,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We’ll play the best guys.”

Notes: Pro Bowl S Eric Berry (right heel tendinitis) left practice Tuesday. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out. … DE Mike Catapono (illness) missed practice after briefly returning this week. … K Ryan Succop (groin inflammation) remained out of practice.