Chiefs Show Resiliency, Mental Toughness in Win Over Saints
The Kansas City Chiefs’ 32-29 win over the New Orleans Saints extended a trend that has occurred since Week 9.
For the sixth consecutive game, the Chiefs won by one score. With a beat-up offensive line going up against a tough defensive opponent, head coach Andy Reid seemed satisfied with the results in his postgame press conference.
“I talked [to] them about playing four good quarters of football," Reid said. "Offensively, you have to bear down when you’re playing one of the best defenses in football. Everything’s not going to be pretty. You have to stay with it, trust each other and go.”
The Chiefs trailed in the game just once but mostly faced adversity in the absence of right tackle Mike Remmers. Andrew Wylie, who has most recently appeared as a right guard, filled in at right tackle while Stefan Wisniewski stepped in at the right guard spot.
With yet another new offensive line configuration in place for the season, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes saw plenty of pressure. He was sacked four times for a loss of 22 yards.
Despite the pressure, Mahomes was still able to throw for 254 yards and three touchdowns on 26 completions.
“We scored points against a good defensive front," Reid said. "You are talking about one of the best defensive fronts if not the best statistically. I thought we ran the ball efficiently especially in the second half. We threw the ball well with the exception of a couple of blitzes that they had. They got us at the end, but we were clean for the most part.”
When the game was winding down, the Chiefs ran for 70 yards in the final quarter. Running back Le’Veon Bell accounted for 30 rushing yards in the quarter, including a 12-yard touchdown run.
"We needed resiliency and mental toughness," Reid said. "We had drops. We had guys open down the field and we weren’t quite able to get to them. We had linemen playing in different spots. These are not excuses, but there is a point where you have to bear down. Things are going to happen and you have to go. I think the guys did a heck of a job with it. They didn’t let it bog them down mentally. If they got beat, then they got beat. They got back on the horse, kept going and tried it again. I appreciated the fighting part.”
