By The Numbers: Chiefs vs. Saints in Week 15
The New Orleans Saints (10-4) fell short of completing the comeback on Sunday afternoon, dropping their second consecutive game after a nine-game winning streak. The 32-29 defeat all but eliminates the Saints from securing the NFC's top seed and keeps Tampa Bay in the NFC South race for another week. Here is a look inside the numbers from the Saints' Week 15 matchup with the Chiefs.
6: Drew Brees Began a Game 0 of 6 for the 1st Time in His Career
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Sheldon Rankins calls him the "walking Hall-of-Famer." After missing a month with 11 broken ribs and a punctured lung, it was evident that Drew Brees needed to dust off the cobwebs. He began the Chiefs game by missing on each of his first six passes - something he had never done in his NFL career.
The New Orleans offense never looked fully in-sync and was missing multiple offensive lineman and wide-outs throughout the matchup. While only possessing the ball for 19 minutes, the Saints' offense did bounce back from their slow start scoring 27 offensive points. Brees concluded the day 15 of 34 for 234 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
12.5: Trey Hendrickson Leads the NFL with 12.5 Sacks this Season
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New Orleans' defense set the tone early on Sunday, harassing Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes from the start. However, one Saint stood-out among the rest, DE Trey Hendrickson. 2020 has been a breakout season for the former third-round selection, racking up a team and league high 12.5 sacks through 14 games and providing a much-needed sidekick to Cameron Jordan.
Hendrickson record 5 QB hits and 2 sacks and a forced fumble on the 2018 NFL MVP in Sunday's matchup before exiting the game in the fourth quarter with a stinger.
53: Alvin Kamara Ties Dalton Hilliard for 4th on the Saints TD List
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New Orleans superstar running back Alvin Kamara came short of breaking his six-game skid of failing to reach 100+ scrimmage yards. He finished the action with 94 total yards. AK's fourth-quarter touchdown reception from Drew Brees was the 53rd of his NFL career. The score moved him into a tie with running back Dalton Hilliard for 4th in franchise history.
Kamara is two touchdowns away from a three-way for second place with previous running backs Deuce McAllister and Mark Ingram II at 55 career touchdowns.
92: Kansas City Ran 92 Offensive Plays Sunday
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Time of possession tells most of the story from this Week 15 matchup. Kansas City possessed the ball for over 40 minutes and cranked out 92 total offensive plays against the New Orleans defense. The Chiefs were able to crank 41 rushing attempts and wore down a very good Saints defensive unit.
For being on the field as long as they were, the New Orleans defense played a reasonably decent game. At first glance, if it were not for some "Mahomes Magic," Dennis Allen's unit could have led the team to victory.
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