Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs are one of just two remaining undefeated teams in the NFL (along with the Minnesota Vikings).
On Monday Night Football, the Chiefs defeated the New Orleans Saints, 26-13, to improve to 5-0 on the season. Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s Chiefs-Saints game, including the box score, stat leaders, game recap, and more.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. New Orleans Saints Box Score
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | F | |
| Chiefs | 7 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 26 |
| Saints | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
Chiefs-Saints Stat Leaders
Leading Passers
- Patrick Mahomes QB | KC
28-of-39 for 331 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception - Derek Carr, QB | NO
18-of-24 for 165 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception
Leading Rushers
- Kareem Hunt, RB | KC
27 carries for 102 yards and 1 touchdown - Alvin Kamara, RB | NO
11 carries for 26 yards
Leading Receivers
- Juju Smith-Schuster, WR | KC
7 receptions for 130 yards - Rashid Shaheed, WR | NO
4 receptions for 86 yards and 1 touchdown - Travis Kelce, TE | KC
9 receptions for 70 yards - Alvin Kamara, RB | NO
6 receptions for 40 yards
Chiefs-Saints Game Recap
With 6:34 remaining in the first quarter, Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt put up the first points of the game — a 5-yard rushing touchdown. Hunt played for Kansas City for the first two years of his NFL career, rushing for 2,151 yards and totaling 25 touchdowns in 27 games. Last season, he rushed for nine touchdowns as a member of the Cleveland Browns. Hunt recently signed with Kansas City after Isiah Pacheco fractured his fibula and Carson Steele struggled as the team’s RB1.
The Chiefs are missing their top two wide receivers (Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown) and many wondered how Kansas City’s offense would look without Rice. Interestingly, Patrick Mahomes didn’t attempt a single pass to a wide receiver during the first quarter of tonight’s game. He also didn’t target a receiver during the fourth quarter of last week’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, so he went two consecutive quarters without attempting a single pass to a wide receiver.
Instead, Mahomes threw to tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray early on, and the Chiefs ran the ball a ton. Hunt had eight rushes for 41 yards in the first quarter. Mahomes finally had his first pass to a WR early in the second quarter, connecting with Mecole Hardman for a 5-yard gain.
The Saints got off to a slow start, in part due to Derek Carr’s first-quarter interception. This is now the sixth consecutive prime-time game in which Carr has thrown an interception. He’s thrown five touchdown passes and nine interceptions in those games.
Saints WR Rashid Shaheed is averaging 16.37 air yards per target this season — best in the NFL. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/0aoW1jd5kb
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 8, 2024
However, Carr bounced back in the second quarter, connecting with Rashid Shaheed for 43-yard touchdown. Shaheed has emerged as arguably the best deep threat in the NFL this season, with three deep scores so far this year.
The Chiefs entered this game ranking 23rd in red zone percentage, and their struggles in that area continued as they threw an interception in the end zone in the third quarter. The Saints have the best red zone defense in the NFL, allowing a touchdown on 22.2% of trips. Mahomes and Juju Smith-Schuster nearly connected for a touchdown at the goal line, but Smith-Schuster bobbled the pass and it was intercepted by Khalen Saunders.
Hands down my favorite play of the season. pic.twitter.com/40K45fkCe0
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 8, 2024
This led to a Saints score, as Carr and Foster Moreau connected on a six-yard touchdown. However, Blake Grupe missed the extra point.
The Chiefs answered with a touchdown of their own, with rookie Xavier Worthy rushing for the three-yard score. This was Worthy’s second rushing touchdown of the season.
Harrison Butker kicked four field goals for the Chiefs, who ultimately won 26-13.
It’s no coincidence that Kelce’s two best games of the season occurred after Rice’s injury, as he now has 16 receptions and 159 yards over the last two games after totaling eight catches and 69 yards through the first three weeks.
Next Sunday, the 5-0 Chiefs will travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers. Meanwhile, the 2-3 Saints will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
Chiefs-Saints By The Numbers
- Entering this game, the Chiefs became the sixth team in the Super Bowl era to start 4-0 with all four wins coming by one score. The last to do this was the 2004 Jets. For what it’s worth, none of the prior five teams won the Super Bowl, and only the 1988 Cincinnati Bengals made it to the big game. This was Kansas City’s most convincing win of the season.
- What makes the Chiefs’ undefeated record even crazier is that they entered this game with a -4 turnover differential. They are the first team in the 2000s to have four wins through four weeks with more committed turnovers than forced.
- Mahomes currently has the second-shortest aDOT this season (5.6), ahead of only Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield. However, Mahomes has exceled when he tries to go deep. Mahomes is completing 66.7% of his passes of 15+ air yards (12-of-18), the best in the NFL entering this week.
- The Chiefs’ defense has started slowly during games. In the first quarter, they rank 26th in scoring (6.8 PPG) and 27th in yards per play (6.5). Over the final three quarters, the Chiefs rank fourth in PPG (11.3) and 12th in yards per play (5.0).
- Entering this game, the Saints had a +57 point differential but are 2-2. That’s the best point differential through four games in NFL history by a team that didn’t have a winning record. The prior high was +54 by the 1981 Buffalo Bills.
- As previously mentioned, the Saints had the best red zone defense in the NFL through the first four weeks, allowing a touchdown on 22.2% of trips.
- Interestingly, New Orleans ran play-action on 19.5% of their snaps in the first two weeks, a rate that has dropped back to 10.4% since.
