close
close

The Chiefs overcome red zone woes and win 5-0 against the Saints

The Chiefs overcome red zone woes and win 5-0 against the Saints

It wasn't the best victory.

But it was still a win, as the Kansas City Chiefs secured a 26-13 win over the New Orleans Saints on Monday night. With the win, the Chiefs improved to 5-0 and joined the Minnesota Vikings as the only other undefeated NFL teams through the first five weeks of the season.

The Chiefs controlled the game and were by far the better team on both sides of the ball. But problems in the red zone allowed the Saints to stay close until the end of the fourth quarter. The Chiefs scored a single touchdown in their first five red zone appearances, as well as three field goals and an interception at the goal line. But towards the end of the game, they broke through with a 3-yard run by Xavier Worthy for their second touchdown, which secured the victory.

The Saints leave the game with a loss and worries about quarterback Derek Carr, who had to go to the locker room with an oblique injury in the fourth quarter. Details about his condition were not immediately clear. The loss leaves New Orleans at 2-3 after a 2-0 start.

The live broadcast has ended42 updates

  • The Saints turn the ball over on downs and the Chiefs can run out of time. This is finished. The Chiefs dominated both sides of the ball and overcame trouble in the red zone to improve to 5-0 with a 26-13 win.

  • The Chiefs scored just 6:29 into the game, kicking a field goal to extend their lead to 26-13. This is almost over with 3:03 remaining in regulation time. Jake Haener replaces the injured Derek Carr at quarterback for New Orleans.

  • Derek Carr goes to the locker room

    Derek Carr was heading to the locker room after going to the medical tent. Lisa Salters of ESPN reported that the Saints are talking about an oblique injury. He's officially questionable, but it seems unlikely he'll return late in the fourth quarter of a two-possession game.

  • The Saints simply tried fourth and eighth shots at their own 41 points. Derek Carr threw a perfect deep ball to Mason Tipton, but Tipton couldn't catch it. The Chiefs took over on downs and led 23-13 with 9:32 left.

  • The Chiefs respond with their 2nd TD in 6 trips to the red zone

    This time they didn't miss out. The Chiefs are back in the end zone thanks to a 3-yard run by Xavier Worthy after a direct snap to Travis Kelce. A 50-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to JuJu Smith-Schuster set up the score. The Chiefs extend their lead to 23-13 and may have averted disaster.

  • The Chiefs are back in the red zone after a 50-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to JuJu Smith-Schuster. Will they find the end zone this time?

  • This game shouldn't be close. But five trips to the red zone yielded just one touchdown for the Chiefs. Otherwise, they settled for three field goals and turned the ball over at the goal line after Khalen Saunders' interception.

  • The Saints benefit from Saunders' interception

    The Saints converted Khalen Saunders' interception at the goal line into a touchdown and turned it into a ball game. New Orleans marched 65 yards in eight plays and capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr to tight end Foster Moreau.

    Blake Grupe's extra point missed the mark, but the Saints cut their deficit to 16-13 with 14:13 left.

  • Khalen Saunders with the big man pick

    The Saints lost a huge ball at the goal line. Patrick Mahomes looked to JuJu Smith-Schuster for third-and-2, but Smith-Schuster juggled the ball and left it in the air.

    Khalen Saunders was there to grab it. The Saints defensive tackle grabbed the ball out of the air and rumbled out of the end zone to the New Orleans 35-yard line.

    What a play. New Orleans is still kind of stuck in this thing. The Chiefs lead 16-7 late in the third quarter.

  • A huge penalty puts the Chiefs in the red zone. Patrick Mahomes looked deep to Xavier Worthy from the Kansas City 39-yard line. Paulson Adebo ran over Worthy before the ball arrived. Adebo called a 46-yard pass interference penalty.

  • The Chiefs ambush and sack Derek Carr on third-and-12, resulting in a loss of eight yards. The Saints punt after failing to capitalize on their good field position. The Chiefs lead 16-7 midway through the third quarter.

  • The Chiefs came away empty-handed on their first drive of the second half. A deep ball to Xavier Worthy fails on third down and Harrison Butker misses a 51-yard field goal attempt. The Saints take over the midfield.

  • The second half is underway. The Chiefs took a 16-7 lead in the second half.

  • Notable halftime stats

    Patrick Mahomes cooks. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 216 yards in one half of football. But he didn't manage to find the end zone.

    -Kareem Hunt has 12 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown
    -Travis Kelce has eight catches for 67 yards
    -JuJu Smith-Schuster has five catches for 67 yards
    -No other Chiefs player has more than one catch

    Derek Carr is 9 of 14 for 84 yards with a touchdown and an interception. More than half of his yardage came from a 43-yard touchdown pass to Rashid Shaheed

    -Alvin Kamara had 6 carries for 18 yards
    -Shaheed has two catches for 58 yards and a touchdown

    -Chiefs First Downs: 15
    -Saints First Downs: 5
    -Chiefs total yards: 277
    -Total Holy Yards: 112
    -Chief yards per play: 6.3
    -Saints yards per game: 5.1
    – Chiefs time of possession: 19:31
    – Saints time of possession: 10:31

  • The Chiefs control the ball and the game, more than their 16-7 lead at halftime suggests. But they allowed a touchdown in the big play and came just outside the end zone on three of their four trips to the red zone, keeping the Saints within striking distance.

  • The Chiefs fail again in the red zone and settle for another field goal attempt from Harrison Butker. Butker scores from 28 yards and extends Kansas City's lead to 16:7. That should be it for the first half. There are six seconds left on the clock.

  • The Saints needed 22 seconds before going back to the Chiefs after a three-and-out. The Chiefs have a chance to add another score before halftime. Kansas City leads 13-7 with 58 seconds left in the half.

  • A Patrick Mahomes sack puts the Chiefs on third-and-14 and ultimately forces Kansas City to settle for a field goal. Harrison Butker covers from 34 yards and the Chiefs extend their lead to 13-7 with 1:32 left before halftime.

  • And now the Chiefs have a first down. After a holding penalty, they ended up second and 34th. On third-and-22, Travis Kelce caught a pass from Patrick Mahomes on a crossline and then played the ball sideways to Samaje Perine.

    Perine then carried the ball two meters in front of the post. The Chiefs scored four on fourth-and-2 and converted. What a play.

  • Alontae Taylor just blew up a Chiefs play in the backfield, potentially short-circuiting a Kansas City drive that had crossed into Saints territory. Put Kansas City on second-and-24. Chiefs running back Carson Steele lost the ball a week after a fumble landed him on the bench. Xaiver Worthy recovered for the Chiefs.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *