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 to improve to a perfect 5-0 on Monday night. 

Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy was also among the touchdowns as Steve Spagnuolo’s defense shut down Derek Carr to hand the Saints (2-3) their third straight defeat.

Carr threw for 185 yards with two touchdowns and a pick before leaving with an oblique injury with around nine-and-a-half minutes remaining.

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 the Baltimore Ravens’ Derek Henry to 46 yards and Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons to 31.

The first half featured a 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 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 salvage some of it back on a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster, before Mahomes hit Kelce in the middle of the field. From there Kelce lateraled to Samaje Perine, who moved within a yard of the first down before Kansas City converted on fourth-and-short to set up an eventual field goal.

Stats leaders:

New Orleans Saints

• Passing: Derek Carr, 18/28, 165 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
• Rushing: Alvin Kamara, 11 carries, 26 yards
• Receiving: Rashid Shaheed, 4 catches, 86 yards, 1 TD

Kansas City Chiefs

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

It was field goals that kept New Orleans in the game, though. The Chiefs have struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone all season, and 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 former Chiefs defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, who made his first career interception.

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

But unlike every other game for the Chiefs, which had been decided in the final minutes – if not the final play – they answered the blow by delivering one of their own.

Smith-Schuster hauled in a 50-yard pass moments later, and Worthy took a handoff on first-and-goal at the three for a touchdown that extended their cushion early in the fourth quarter. After the Chiefs stopped the Saints on fourth down, they tacked on another field goal with 3:03 left.

Scoring summary

What did they say?

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

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

Saints head coach Dennis Allen: “We got outplayed. We really couldn’t get a whole lot 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 matchup on the road against the San Francisco 49ers in a repeat of last year’s season finale in Las Vegas. The Saints meanwhile prepare to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next weekend in a crucial NFC South clash.

Watch the Chicago Bears face the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday October 13, live on Sky Sports NFL, with kickoff at 2.30pm; Also stream with NOW.

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