The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the New Orleans Saints, 26-13, to remain undefeated on the season in front of a national television audience on Monday night.
A true three-phase victory, Kansas City piled up 460 yards of offense, converted four field goals and held New Orleans – the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL – to a season-low 13 points.
"It was a great atmosphere for a football game [tonight]. The guys could feel that, and they rose up," said Head Coach Andy Reid. "I thought all three phases did a nice job tonight. It started with the offensive and defensive lines, they put a lot of pressure on the quarterback and took the pressure off [our] quarterback, and we ran the ball well."
Indeed, Kansas City rushed for 139 yards on Monday night courtesy of a strong outing by veteran tailback Kareem Hunt, who amassed 102 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. It was Hunt's first 100-yard performance since Week 10 of the 2020 season.
"He's playing hard," quarterback Patrick Mahomes said of Hunt. "For someone who didn't have training camp to have that [many] carries and catches, [plus] the pass protection and being able to pick up blitzes. That's the stuff that goes under the radar, and he's done great at that stuff."
Hunt wasn't the only player to put together a vintage performance either, as wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster hauled in seven catches for 130 yards as part of his top statistical performance since the 2020-21 postseason.
"JuJu is a good football player," Reid said. "He's been a good football player for a long time, and you know, he had the one down in the end zone that got tipped and he felt terrible about that, but then he came back with two huge [catches]. He's a pro and does a great job with that."
Reid was referencing a tipped pass that deflected off Smith-Schuster's hands and into the arms of Saints' defensive tackle – and former Chief – Khalen Saunders late in the third quarter. New Orleans then promptly turned the takeaway into points when quarterback Derek Carr found tight end Foster Moreau for a 6-yard touchdown that narrowed the Chiefs' lead to just three points.
It was part of the only blemish on the night for the Chiefs' offense, which went 2-for-7 in the red zone in terms of touchdown efficiency, but Kansas City made sure to immediately answer with a five-play, 68-yard scoring drive that ended with a 3-yard run by wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
Fittingly, Smith-Schuster was responsible for the biggest play of the drive with a 50-yard reception, and soon after, Worthy's touchdown effectively put the game away as the defense, meanwhile, continued to put together another dominant performance.
Kansas City held the Saints – which entered the night averaging 31.8 points-per-game – to just 220 yards of offense. New Orleans went "three-and-out" on three occasions and turned the ball over three times (twice on downs and once on an interception), all while struggling to run the football throughout the game.
In fact, the Chiefs held Saints' tailback Alvin Kamara – who entered the game with the most scrimmage yards of any player in the league – to just 66 total yards (and 26 rushing yards) on 17 touches.
Kansas City has now held opposing running backs to an average of just 3.1 yards-per-carry for the year, and overall, the Chiefs have limited opponents to fewer than 28 total points in 26 consecutive games, marking the longest streak for any team in 17 seasons.
It all helped the Chiefs move to 5-0 for the first time since 2018 on Monday despite sustaining notable significant injuries along the way, but as they've shown time and time again over the years, Kansas City's resiliency has shown through.
"These guys – and you get tired of me saying this – they don't flinch at all that stuff. It's just the next guy up, and I'm proud of them for that," Reid said. "There's an attitude in the locker room…They trust that the next guy is going to come in and do a good job."
In some additional good news, Coach Reid didn't have any injuries to report following the game.
The Chiefs will now enjoy some much-deserved time off as they head into the bye week with an unbeaten record.
