Patrick Mahomes threw for 331 yards, Kareem Hunt ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, and the Chiefs overcame more red-zone woes to beat the New Orleans Saints 26-13 on a big night for Kansas City’s professional sports teams.
Just as the Chiefs were moving to 5-0 behind another defensive gem, the Royals were beating the Yankees in Game 2 of their AL Division Series in New York.
There were frequent chants of “Let’s go Royals!” throughout Monday’s game, and when the Royals finished off a 4-2 victory to send the series back to Kansas City tied a game apiece, a roar ripped through Arrowhead Stadium.
There were plenty of roars for the Chiefs, too.
Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy scored another touchdown, and their defence shut down old Raiders rival Derek Carr while dealing the Saints (2-3) their third consecutive defeat.
Carr threw for 185 yards with two touchdowns and a pick before leaving with an oblique injury. It occurred with about nine and a half minutes left, when Carr was hit on a fourth-down incompletion as he tried to rally New Orleans from a 23-13 deficit.
The Saints’ Alvin Kamara managed 26 yards rushing on 11 carries, becoming the latest high-profile running back to struggle against the Chiefs. Derrick Henry (46 yards rushing), Zack Moss (34), Bijan Robinson (31) and J.K. Dobbins (32) have also struggled.
The first half on Monday night featured a bit of everything: Hunt’s first TD since returning to Kansas City, where his once-promising career was derailed by an off-the-field incident; a 43-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Rashid Shaheed, the shortest of the three Shaheed has caught this season; and yet another lateral by Travis Kelce, which came on the most bizarre of drives.
The Chiefs were leading 10-7 when a fumbled pitch and a holding penalty left them facing second-and-34.
They got some of it back on a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster, and then Mahomes hit Kelce over the middle. Kelce lateraled to Samaje Perine, who got within a yard of a first down, and Kansas City converted the fourth-and-short play to set up an eventual field goal.
The Chiefs have struggled to score TDs in the red zone all season, and they were forced to let Harrison Butker kick a trio of chip shots to lead 16-7 at the break.
Their red-zone woes continued in the third quarter. On second-and-goal, Smith-Schuster had a pass bounce off his hands at the goal line and into the arms of 324-pound former Chiefs defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, who made his first career interception.
The Saints got within 16-13 with 14:16 to play, but Worthy’s touchdown extended the Chiefs’ cushion.
New Orleans hosts Tampa Bay on Sunday, while Kansas City has a week off before visiting San Francisco on October 20.
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift was back at Arrowhead Stadium to see Kelce and the Chiefs after missing her boyfriend’s previous two road games.
Swift resumes her record-setting Eras Tour on Friday night with the first of three shows in Miami.
