The Kansas City Chiefs dispatched the New Orleans Saints with relative ease Monday night, cruising to a 26-13 win to cap Week 5.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 331 yards, while Xavier Worthy and Kareem Hunt added touchdowns on the ground. Tight end Travis Kelce and receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster had big games for the Chiefs, catching nine passes for 70 yards and seven passes for 130 yards, respectively. They provided much-needed support for the Chiefs' passing game, which is down star wideout Rashee Rice, who was injured last week.
Derek Carr struggled for the Saints. He was picked off on the team’s opening drive and threw for only 165 yards. He left the game in the fourth quarter with an oblique injury and did not return for New Orleans’s final possession.
Kansas City dominated this game more than the score would indicate. The Chiefs doubled the Saints in first downs, more than doubled them in total yards and nearly doubled them in time of possession.
New Orleans’ defense was stout in the red zone, which kept the score close. Kansas City scored touchdowns on only two of its six red zone trips. Mahomes also threw a red zone interception, while Harrison Butker missed one of his five field-goal attempts.
Though it wasn’t pretty, the Chiefs remained undefeated and are now 5-0. Kansas City has a bye next week before a Super Bowl rematch with the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 20.
The Saints are 2-3 after their third straight loss. They will play NFC South rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week.
Chiefs win 26-13
This game was not as close as the score would indicate.
The Chiefs won rather easily, dominating on offense and controlling possession for most of the night. If not for some red zone foibles, Kansas City would have won by an outsized margin.
The Chiefs are now 5-0.
The Saints are now 2-3, losing their third straight. Their attention will now turn to quarterback Derek Carr, who left the game in the fourth with an oblique injury.
Wait, who is Jake Haener?
The Saints are currently riding with Jake Haener at quarterback after an oblique injury to Derek Carr.
Haener was New Orleans’s fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He did not appear in any games last season after he was suspended for the first six weeks of the season for failing a drug test for a performance-enhancing substance.
Entering tonight, Haener had attempted only one pass in the NFL. He was in college for five years — two with the Washington Huskies, and three with the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Chiefs add one more field goal
After a drive that took over six minutes off the clock, the Chiefs hit their fourth field goal of the night to give themselves a 26-13 lead.
The Saints will go back on offense with Jake Haener at quarterback, as Derek Carr still hasn’t returned from the locker room with his oblique injury.
Derek Carr heading to locker room
After the Saints last offensive play, Derek Carr got up holding his back. After a brief stay in the blue medical tent, he went back to the locker room.
ESPN broadcasters said it was an oblique injury and his return was questionable.
Saints turn ball over on downs
Trailing 23-13, the Saints went for it on 4th-and-8, but couldn’t convert. Their drive ends after only six plays and 29 yards.
Kansas City will take over on its own 41 with under 10 minutes to go.
Chiefs come right back with a touchdown of their own
It took only five plays for the Chiefs to go 68 yards and bump their lead back up to 10.
Travis Kelce took a direct snap and handed the ball to Xavier Worthy from three yards out for the score.
It’s only Kansas City’s second touchdown in six red zone trips tonight, but it gives the Chiefs a 23-13 lead.
Touchdown, Saints!
The Saints waste no time in taking advantage of a Patrick Mahomes turnover.
Derek Carr led an eight-play, 65-yard drive culminating in a Foster Moreau touchdown pass from six yards out. The Saints missed the extra point, so the score is 16-13 Chiefs.
End of third: Chiefs 16, Saints 7
The Saints are driving with a chance to cut into the Kansas City lead at the end of the third quarter.
New Orleans is hanging around thanks to its defense, which has held the Chiefs to only one touchdown in five red zone trips. Kansas City also has a missed field goal, and on its last drive, Patrick Mahomes was picked off in the end zone.
Can the Saints finally capitalize?
Saints pick off Patrick Mahomes in the end zone!
What a huge play!
The Chiefs looked like they were about to add to their 16-7 lead, but off a deflection, Khalen Saunders picked off Patrick Mahomes in the end zone and ran it back out to the New Orleans 35-yard line.
Huge play for the Saints defense, which keeps coming up with stops in the red zone.
Saunders’s brother Kameron, by the way, is a backup dancer for none other than Taylor Swift. He shared a stage with Swift and Travis Kelce during an Eras Tour show in London.
Derek Carr sacked; Saints punt again
New Orleans almost had a big first down in Chiefs territory, but an illegal shift penalty on Chris Olave wiped it out. On the next play, Derek Carr was sacked, and New Orleans punted again.
The Chiefs take over with a 16-7 lead. The Saints defense will have to find a way to get another stop.
