New Orleans Saints 13-26 Kansas City Chiefs: Super Bowl champions extend perfect start with JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kareem Hunt as stars | NFL News

Patrick Mahomes threw for 331 yards while Kareem Hunt ran for 102 yards and a touchdown as the Kansas City Chiefs beat the New Orleans Saints 26-13 on Monday night to improve to a perfect 5-0.

Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy was also among the touchdowns as Steve Spagnuolo's defense picked off Derek Carr, handing the Saints (2-3) their third straight loss.

Carr threw for 185 yards with two touchdowns and a pick before exiting with an oblique injury with about nine and a half minutes left.

The Saints' Alvin Kamara managed 26 yards rushing on 11 carries, becoming the latest high-profile running back to struggle against the Chiefs, who also held Derek Henry of the Baltimore Ravens to 46 yards and Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons to 31.

The first half had a little bit of everything: Hunt's first touchdown since returning to Kansas City; a 43-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Rashid Shaheed, the shortest of the three Shaheed caught this season; and yet another lateral from Travis Kelce, which came on the most bizarre rides.

The Chiefs were leading 10-7 when a fumbled pitch and a holding penalty left them facing 2nd-and-34. They salvage some of it with a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster before Mahomes hits Kelce in the middle of the field. From there, Kelce passed to Samaje Perine, who moved within a yard of the first down before Kansas City converted on fourth-and-short pass, eventually setting up a field goal.

Statistics guide:

New Orleans Saints

• Consist: Derek Carr, 18/28, 165 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 INT
• Rush: Alvin Kamara, 11 carries, 26 yards
• Reception: Rashid Shaheed, 4 catches, 86 yards, 1 touchdown

Kansas City Chiefs

• Consist: Patrick Mahomes, 28/39, 331 yards, 1 INT
• Rush: Kareem Hunt, 27 carries, 102 yards, 1 TD
• Reception: JuJu Smith-Schuster, 7 catches, 130 yards

However, it was the field goals that kept New Orleans in the game. The Chiefs have struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone all season, surrendering three chip shots to Harrison Butker to take a 16-7 lead at halftime.

Their red zone troubles continued into the third quarter. On second-and-goal, a pass from Smith-Schuster bounced off his hands at the goal line and into the arms of former Chiefs defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, who made his first career interception.

The Saints promptly marched 65 yards, with Foster Moreau's touchdown catch bringing them within 16-13 with 14:16 to play.

But unlike every other Chiefs game that was decided in the final minutes – if not the final play – they answered the blow with a shot of their own.

Smith-Schuster fired a 50-yard pass moments later, and Worthy took over the threesome's first-and-goal attack for a touchdown that increased their cushion early in the fourth quarter. After stopping the Saints on fourth down, the Chiefs scored another field goal with 3:03 left.

Summary of the rating

What did they say?

Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on returning to the team this offseason: “It’s pretty cool to get the band back together. Man, I'm telling you, there's no place like this. What we have here is something special. It’s unreal.”

Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt: “It was a great feeling to be in the end zone again. I missed it a lot. That's why I threw up a heart. To show my love for Kansas City.”

Saints head coach Dennis Allen: “We were outplayed. We really couldn’t get much going on either side of the ball.”

What's next?

The Super Bowl champion Chiefs now head into a bye week before returning for a blockbuster road game against the San Francisco 49ers, a repeat of last year's season finale in Las Vegas. The Saints, meanwhile, are preparing to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a crucial NFC South matchup next weekend.

Watch the Chicago Bears take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday October 13th, live on Sky Sports NFL, kick-off 2:30pm; Also stream with NOW.

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