National Football League

Patrick Mahomes leads Chiefs past Saints 26-13 as Derek Carr gets hurt

Published Oct. 7, 2024 11:58 p.m. ET

Patrick Mahomes threw for 331 yards, Kareem Hunt ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, and the Chiefs overcame more red-zone woes Monday 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 the 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 defense 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 9:32 left, when Carr was hit on a fourth-down incompletion as he tried to rally New Orleans from a 23-13 deficit.

After the game, though, Carr told reporters that it wasn't the hit that injured him. It was when he went to throw the ball.

"We'll get an MRI and all that kind of stuff tomorrow and figure it out," Carr said. "But for me to not be out there with my guys in that kind of situation. …I couldn't do what I needed to do. I would have done anything to stay out there and keep fighting, but I couldn't. It sucks."

The Saints' Alvin Kamara managed 26 yards rushing on 11 carries, becoming the latest high-profile running back to struggle against the Chiefs. They held the Ravens' Derrick Henry to 46 yards rushing, Zack Moss of the Bengals to 34, Falcons star Bijan Robinson to 31 and J.K. Dobbins to 32 in last week's win over the Chargers.

The first half 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.

It was exactly that — field goals — that kept New Orleans in the game, though. 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 promptly marched 65 yards with Foster Moreau's TD 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 3 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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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