Chiefs 26-13 Saints (Oct. 7, 2024) Game Recap

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 331 yards, Kareem Hunt ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, and the Chiefs overcame more red zone woes on Monday to beat the New Orleans Saints 26-13 on a big night for Kansas professional sports teams in the city.

Just as the Chiefs moved to 5-0 behind another defensive gem, the Royals defeated the Yankees in Game 2 of their AL Division Series in New York. There were frequent cries of “Let’s go Royals!” There was a cheer throughout Arrowhead Stadium throughout the game, and as the Royals took the series back to Kansas City with a 4-2 win and tied one game at a time.

There was also a lot of yelling from the Chiefs. Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy scored another touchdown and their defense shut down old Raiders rival Derek Carr while handing the Saints (2-3) their third straight loss.

Carr threw for 185 yards with two touchdowns and a pick before exiting with an oblique injury. It happened with about 9 1/2 minutes left when Carr was hit by a fourth-down incompletion while trying to get New Orleans out of a 23-13 deficit.

The Saints’ Alvin Kamara managed 26 rushing yards on 11 carries, becoming the latest high-profile running back to struggle against the Chiefs. In last week’s win over the Chargers, they held the Ravens’ Derrick Henry to 46 yards, the Bengals’ Zack Moss to 34, Falcons star Bijan Robinson to 31 and JK Dobbins to 32 yards.

Monday night’s first half had a little bit of everything: Hunt’s first touchdown since returning to Kansas City, where his once-promising career was derailed by an off-field incident; a 43-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Rashid Shaheed, the shortest of the three Shaheed caught this season; and yet another lateral from Travis Kelce, which came on the most bizarre rides.

The Chiefs were leading 10-7 when a fumbled pitch and a holding penalty left them facing 2nd-and-34. They got some of it back with a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster, and then Mahomes hit Kelce over the middle. Kelce passed laterally to Samaje Perine, who came within a yard of a first down, and Kansas City converted on fourth-and-short to eventually score a field goal.

But that’s exactly what kept New Orleans in the game – field goals. The Chiefs have struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone all season, surrendering three chip throws to Harrison Butker to take a 16-7 lead at halftime.

Their red zone troubles continued into the third quarter. On second-and-goal, a pass from Smith-Schuster at the goal line bounced off his hands and landed in the arms of 324-pound former Chiefs defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, who made his first career interception.

The Saints promptly marched 65 yards, with Foster Moreau’s TD catch bringing them within 16-13 with 14:16 to play.

But unlike every other Chiefs game that was decided in the final minutes – if not the final play – they responded to the blow by delivering a blow of their own. Smith-Schuster fired a 50-yard pass moments later, and Worthy passed on first-and-goal at the 3 for a touchdown that increased their cushion early in the fourth quarter.

After stopping the Saints on fourth down, the Chiefs scored another field goal with 3:03 left.

Tay Tay returns

Taylor Swift was back at Arrowhead Stadium to watch Kelce and the Chiefs after missing her boyfriend’s last two away games. She continues her record-breaking Eras tour Friday night with the first of three shows in Miami.

Injuries

Saints: CB Will Harris injured his hamstring in the first half. C Lucas Patrick was briefly sidelined in the third quarter with a collarbone injury.

Chiefs: LT Wanya Morris left the first half with a lower leg injury but returned to the game.

Next

New Orleans hosts Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Kansas City has a week off before visiting San Francisco on October 20th.

——

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL