Saints Offense Flat Again, as Mahomes and Chiefs Knock Off New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints defense did well against the high-powered Chiefs offense, all things considered. However, the offense did not look good on the day, and it helped lead New Orleans to a second consecutive loss. Third downs were a struggle all game, Drew Brees didn't look strong in his return, and a late rally came up short in the end.
Game Recap
The Saints won the opening coin toss and gave the Chiefs the first opportunity with the ball on the day. Patrick Mahomes and company came out with a good play to start the drive, getting a first down quickly. However, the Saints defense was able to counter and get off the field on a 3rd-and-5 after Mahomes couldn't hit Tyreek Hill. Drew Brees officially returned to the field for New Orleans, but the team's first drive resulted in a three-and-out after he couldn't get Tre'Quan Smith for the conversion.
The second Chiefs drive resulted in their own three-and-out. The Saints had an early interception on Mahomes from Marcus Williams, but an illegal contact penalty by Malcolm Jenkins wiped it out. Jenkins followed it up by making a 5-yard tackle for loss on a Tyreek Hill catch. New Orleans would hold firm on the next downs, forcing a punt after a great pass breakup down field from C.J. Gardner-Johnson on Mecole Hardman.
New Orleans would continue to struggle offensively, and it would cost them in the end. Brees would throw a ball on 3rd-and-5 that was intended for Lil'Jordan Humphrey, but was picked off by L'Jarius Sneed. It wasn't even close. The Chiefs looked to get into the end zone on the very next play, as Le'Veon Bell fumbled and it was advanced by Travis Kelce for a touchdown. However, Bell was ruled down upon further review. Mahomes would find Kelce for a big 3rd down conversion not long after, and then scramble for a 13-yard gain to get down to the Saints' 11-yard line. A few plays later, Mahomes would find Hill for a 5-yard touchdown to get the first points of the game and go up 7-0 with 6:18 left in the opening quarter. On the drive, C.J. Gardner-Johnson got injured and eventually headed to the locker room.
The Saints had another bad offensive drive, going three-and-out for a third straight series. Mahomes and the Chiefs offense would go to work again, getting the ball down to the Saints' 1-yard line on their 26th play of the first quarter. They'd take it in on the first play of the second quarter with a flip pass to Kelce, taking a 14-0 lead at the 14:58 mark. New Orleans would answer that drive with their fourth consecutive three-and-out. Thankfully, the Saints defense would force one of their own on the ensuing Chiefs possession.
New Orleans finally woke up on offense, getting their first first down of the game on Brees' first completion of the game to Alvin Kamara. Brees would find Emmanuel Sanders for a 51-yard hookup on a 3rd-and-10, and two plays later looked to have a score from Taysom Hill, who appeared to have took it into the end zone on a play that Sean Payton challenged. However, the ruling on the field stood, but Hill would get in on the very next play to make it 14-7 Chiefs with 10:21 left in the half. It was a 7-play, 66-yard drive for New Orleans.
Kansas City's next series saw them punt it away after having it for several plays. They ended up going for it on a 4th-and-2 play, which looked to be converted after Mahomes got it off to an offensive lineman, but it was deemed illegal touching and backed the Chiefs up to punt the ball back to New Orleans. Unfortunately, they'd punt it right back to Kansas City. On the Saints drive, Andrus Peat got hurt and would go into the medical tent, eventually limping his way to the locker room. Will Clapp came in for him.
The Chiefs once again got stuck on their next offensive drive, not being able to produce much in a handful of snaps. New Orleans went to work in their two-minute offense, but could not convert on a 3rd-and-2. The team would punt the ball away with 20 seconds left, which was fielded by Demarcus Robinson and ended in a somewhat disaster. Robinson was stripped by Craig Robertson on the return, as it sailed into the end zone. Alex Anzalone had a shot at recovering it, but the ball went out of the end zone, resulting in a safety for the Saints to cut it to 14-9 with 3 seconds to play.
The opening second half drive for the Saints saw them go 75 yards in 4 plays to get a score, which was helped out by a 25-yard hookup to Tre'Quan Smith to start, and then a roughing the passer penalty tacked on to it. The Saints and Chiefs traded a few more penalties on the ensuing plays, but eventually Brees bought enough time to find Latavius Murray for a 24-yard scoop and score on a 2nd-and-14 to take a 15-14 lead at 13:16 of the third quarter. They'd miss the 2-point attempt.
The Chiefs would answer back with a touchdown drive of their own, going 75 yards in 9 plays that was capped off by a Mahomes to Mecole Hardman 5-yard touchdown. It was a great play by both Mahomes and Hardman, who stuck with him and drug his feet to secure the catch. New Orleans would go three-and-out to follow that drive up, trailing 21-15 and punting the ball to Kansas City with 7:23 left in the third.
The Saints defense would eventually stall out Mahomes and company, forcing them to punt the ball back after getting a big third down stop. However, it came with a slight cost, as Marcus Williams got hurt on what appeared to be a sure interception. He'd pull himself to the sideline, but collapse immediately. Eventually, he'd limp to the medical tent under his own power. New Orleans continued to struggle offensively, as they'd go three-and-out again.
Kansas City would find the end zone again, going 59 yards in 10 plays. On the drive, Cam Jordan would be disqualified for landing a punch on a Chiefs offensive lineman, getting hit with a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty in the process. Mahomes would run an option play to Le'Veon Bell, who took it in from 13 yards out. The 2-point attempt was also good, as they increased their lead to 29-15 with 13:44 left in the game.
New Orleans continued their horrid day on offense, running another three-and-out, finding themselves at 1-of-10 on 3rd down on the day. Brees was 7-of-24 after the drive, which tells you all you need to know about his day. The Saints did catch a big break, as Trey Hendrickson continued his assault on passers by getting to Mahomes to force a fumble that would be recovered by Kwon Alexander. Just a few plays later, Kamara would run the ball in from 14 yards out to cut the Chiefs lead to 29-22 with 9:43 left in the game.
The touchdown by the Saints was short-lived, as the Chiefs rattled off a 10-play, 71-yard scoring drive to answer New Orleans. They got a 22-yard field goal from Harrison Butker to extend their lead to 32-22 with 4:18 to play in the game. The Saints would not go down without a fight, as they answered right before the two-minute warning with a touchdown drive, as Brees found Lil'Jordan Humphrey from 17 yards out to cut the Chiefs lead to 3 with 2:06 to play.
The New Orleans defense, who hung in there all game with Kansas City and deserve some credit, couldn't make one last stop. Kelce got a big first down, while Bell got another on the ground and had a Demario Davis facemask penalty to give more yards. Mahomes ran out the clock, as they won 32-29. The Saints fall to 10-4 on the year, and have a quick turnaround to play the Vikings on Christmas Day.
