New Orleans Saints vs Kansas City Chiefs Match Player Stats (Oct 7, 2024)

Game Summary

• Final Score: Chiefs 26, Saints 13
• Date: October 7, 2024 | Arrowhead Stadium
• Top Performers: Mahomes 331 pass yards | Hunt 102 rush yards | Jones 9 QB pressures
• Key Injury: Derek Carr (oblique, exited 4th quarter)
• Turning Point: Saunders’ goal line INT cut deficit to 16-13 before KC responded

Kansas City beat New Orleans 26-13 on Monday Night Football to improve to 5-0 while the Saints fell to 2-3 with their third consecutive loss. The defending champions dominated possession and yardage but struggled to finish drives, settling for four Harrison Butker field goals. In front of 73,592 fans on a mild 70-degree night, Patrick Mahomes and company racked up 460 total yards yet couldn’t punch it into the end zone consistently. That red zone inefficiency nearly kept a thoroughly outmatched Saints team in the game until the fourth quarter.

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Mahomes: 331 Yards Through the Air, Zero TDs

Patrick Mahomes went 28 of 39 for 331 yards without a touchdown pass. His only interception came on a deflection at the goal line when JuJu Smith-Schuster couldn’t haul in a catch. The box score shows an 86.6 passer rating, but the two-time MVP kept drives alive by scrambling for 22 yards on six carries when New Orleans’ defense forced him out of the pocket.

Mahomes Complete Performance

Eight Receivers Share the Wealth

Eight different pass catchers got targets from Mahomes. JuJu Smith-Schuster finally cracked 100 yards for the first time in 24 games, grabbing 7 passes for 130 yards. He’d gone nearly two full seasons without a century mark before Monday.

Travis Kelce caught 9 of his 10 targets for 70 yards, being Mahomes’ go-to option when plays broke down. The tight end continued proving why the team trusted him more than anyone else in crucial situations.

Rookie Xavier Worthy caught 3 passes for 25 yards but made his biggest impact on the ground, scoring a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that sealed the win after New Orleans had cut it to 16-13.

Hunt’s Return: 102 Yards on 27 Carries

Kareem Hunt delivered his first 100-yard performance in four years, carrying 27 times for 102 yards and a touchdown. After scoring on a 5-yard first-quarter run, Hunt threw up a heart gesture to show Kansas City fans he appreciated them bringing him back after Isiah Pacheco went down injured.

KC ran 39 times for 139 yards. Nothing spectacular, but effective enough to keep drives moving. Hunt grinding out four yards on first down repeatedly wore down New Orleans’ defense over 84 total plays.

Carr’s Night Ends With Oblique Injury

Derek Carr completed 18 of 28 passes for 165 yards before an oblique injury knocked him out with 9:30 remaining. He threw two touchdowns against one interception, finishing with an 89.1 rating while getting pressured constantly by KC’s front.

The injury happened on a fourth-down incompletion when Chiefs defensive back Chamarri Conner blitzed free and crushed Carr. The quarterback couldn’t make the throws he needed after taking that hit.

Career Milestones Lost in the Shuffle

Carr hit touchdown number 250 on his scoring pass to Foster Moreau. He also passed 40,000 career yards during the game, but both achievements got buried by the loss and injury.

His 43-yard bomb to Rashid Shaheed in the second quarter gave New Orleans temporary hope. The 6-yard touchdown to Moreau in the fourth made it 16-13, the closest the Saints got. Backup Jake Haener went 2 of 7 for 17 yards after taking over. The second-year QB wasn’t ready for that moment.

Shaheed was averaging over 16 air yards per target during the 2024 season, making him one of the NFL’s best deep threats. His 4 catches for 86 yards accounted for nearly half of New Orleans’ passing offense.

Chris Olave’s disappearance killed the Saints. Their top receiver caught just 2 balls for 10 yards on 4 targets. When your best weapon gets shut down like that, moving the ball becomes nearly impossible.

Kamara Runs Into a Wall: Just 26 Yards

KC’s front seven won every single battle at the line of scrimmage against Alvin Kamara. The All-Pro running back managed just 26 yards on 11 carries for a brutal 2.4 average. The Chiefs had already held Derrick Henry to 46 yards and Bijan Robinson to 31 this season. Kamara became the latest star back to leave Arrowhead frustrated.

Kamara gained just 19 yards after contact on his 11 runs, averaging only 1.7 yards after getting hit. Defenders were in the backfield meeting him before he could get started. He caught 6 balls for 40 yards, giving him 66 total yards. Those are backup numbers, not what you expect from a premier weapon.

New Orleans rushed for 46 yards on 15 carries. That 3.1 average puts an offense in third-and-forever every series. With no running game to lean on, the pass rush came after Carr on every dropback.

Chris Jones Takes Over the Interior

Two tackles. That’s what the stat sheet says Chris Jones recorded. But those two tackles don’t capture how he wrecked New Orleans’ offensive game plan all night.

According to Pro Football Focus, Jones recorded nine quarterback pressures while earning a 93.2 grade, the highest mark for any defensive lineman in Week 5. He beat up center Lucas Patrick and guard Landon Young on nearly every snap. PFF graded Patrick at 28.1 and Young at 32.2, showing the massive gap between them and the All-Pro tackle.

That interior pressure collapsed pockets before Carr could step into throws. Timing routes got disrupted. Rushed throws sailed high or wide.

Linebacker Nick Bolton recorded 11 tackles and got a 90.8 grade from PFF. His reads and tackling helped shut down Kamara completely. Safety Bryan Cook picked off Carr on New Orleans’ opening drive, putting them behind immediately.

The defense pressured Saints quarterbacks 21 times in 42 dropbacks, a 50% rate. They also kept New Orleans receivers to an average of 2.8 yards of separation per target.

Saints Defense Makes Plays But Can’t Sustain It

Former Chief Khalen Saunders provided New Orleans’ highlight. The 324-pound defensive tackle picked off Mahomes at the goal line and ran 37 yards, hitting a top speed of 15.79 mph. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, that’s the third-fastest speed by a 320-plus pound ball carrier since tracking began in 2016.

Saunders’ interception gave New Orleans life. The Saints drove for a touchdown that made it 16-13 early in the fourth quarter. But the defense couldn’t get another stop when it mattered most.

Bryan Bresee and Chase Young each sacked Mahomes once. Two sacks in 41 dropbacks isn’t enough against a quarterback this good. The Saints managed just nine total pressures at a 22% rate.

Red Zone Woes Nearly Bite the Champions

The Chiefs got inside the 20-yard line seven times but scored just two touchdowns. Harrison Butker kicked four field goals for 14 points, but those possessions should have yielded six instead of three.

The worst failure came in the third quarter. Mahomes threw to Smith-Schuster at the goal line. The ball hit the receiver’s hands but bounced off into Saunders’ arms for the pick. Smith-Schuster had only one drop all season before that costly mistake.

New Orleans scored a touchdown on their only red zone chance. But getting just one trip inside the 20 shows how much the Chiefs dominated field position throughout the evening.

How Monday Night Unfolded

The Chiefs jumped ahead 7-0 after Hunt’s first-quarter touchdown. By halftime, they led 16-7 behind three Butker field goals and nearly 25 minutes of possession time.

New Orleans received the second-half kickoff but punted. The Chiefs drove into field goal range before Mahomes threw the interception to Saunders at the goal line. That momentum swing gave the Saints life.

Carr took New Orleans 65 yards in eight plays, hitting Moreau for the touchdown that made it 16-13. Grupe’s missed extra point would prove costly. According to ESPN’s game coverage, that miss kept the door open just enough for KC to slam it shut.

The Chiefs answered immediately. Mahomes hit Smith-Schuster for 50 yards, then Worthy scored on the end-around to make it 23-13. After the defense stopped New Orleans on fourth down, Butker kicked his final field goal with 3:03 remaining.

Third Down Conversions Created More Possessions

The Chiefs went 6 of 14 on third down (43%) while New Orleans converted 4 of 10 (40%). Third down success gave them several more scoring opportunities.

The Chiefs ran 80 plays compared to New Orleans’ 51. More plays means more chances to score and more time to wear down the opponent. The Saints failed both fourth down tries, including the one where Carr got hurt. Those failures ended drives in their territory and killed any momentum.

Special Teams Summary

Butker’s consistency gave KC four possessions that ended in points instead of punts. Field goals aren’t exciting, but they add up. Grupe’s missed extra point after Moreau’s touchdown kept it 16-13 instead of 16-14, which became significant when the Chiefs scored next.

Series History and Context

KC improved to 8-5 all-time against New Orleans with this victory. The Chiefs had won three of the previous four meetings and four of five games at Arrowhead in this series that dates back to 1972.

This marked KC’s biggest Week 5 win of the 2024 regular season. Their previous four victories all came by one score, making them the sixth team in the Super Bowl era to start 4-0 with all single-digit wins.

The Chiefs were 5.5-point favorites and covered easily. The game went under the 43-point total, finishing at 39 combined points. KC came in with a negative turnover differential yet kept finding ways to win, showing championship experience in every close situation.

New Orleans had lost three straight after their 2-0 start where they scored 91 points. The Saints managed just 49 points in three losses, with offensive line problems and Carr’s injury compounding everything. The following week’s showdown with Tampa Bay became a must-win for their playoff hopes.

Injuries Changed the Complexion

Derek Carr’s oblique injury altered everything. Before leaving with 9:30 remaining, he had New Orleans in the game despite getting dominated statistically. His exit with the score 23-13 ended any realistic comeback hopes.

Will Harris left in the first half with a hamstring injury. Center Lucas Patrick briefly went out with a collarbone problem in the third quarter but returned. The Saints were already playing with a backup offensive line, making these injuries even more damaging.

Left tackle Wanya Morris went out in the first half with a lower leg injury but returned. The defending champions stayed mostly healthy, huge for a team already dealing with injuries at receiver and running back positions.

Taylor Swift attended after missing KC’s previous two road games. She resumed her Eras Tour the following Friday in Miami.

Officials and Game Details

Brad Rogers served as referee for the Monday Night Football Week 5 contest. The crew called six penalties on KC for 55 yards and five on New Orleans for 70 yards. No controversial calls changed the outcome.

The game lasted three hours and four minutes from kickoff to final whistle. Weather conditions were ideal: 70 degrees with 27% humidity and just 1 mph wind.

Statistical Domination in Every Phase

KC doubled New Orleans in total yards (460-220), first downs (28-14), and plays run (80-51). Both teams turned it over once, but the Chiefs capitalized while the Saints couldn’t.

Jones had nine pressures that don’t show up in traditional box scores. Hunt rushed for 102 yards in his emotional return. Smith-Schuster finally got his 100-yard game. Bolton remained one of the league’s most underrated players despite consistently elite performances.

For New Orleans, losing Carr changed their entire season trajectory. Haener wasn’t ready to lead the team. The offensive line needed immediate help. The defense allowed 460 yards despite Saunders’ spectacular interception.

What These Stats Meant for Both Teams

This Monday night performance at Arrowhead Stadium showed the Chiefs’ championship formula in action. They controlled the game from start to finish despite red zone struggles that would need addressing in the playoffs. Their grinding style carried them through January, where they survived a thrilling AFC Championship battle with Buffalo that went down to the final possession. Those same red zone inefficiencies caught up with them when they faced a dominant Philadelphia squad in Super Bowl LIX, ending their historic three-peat bid.

New Orleans learned a harsh lesson about execution on this October night. Talent alone doesn’t overcome fundamental failures in protection, run blocking, and finishing drives. The Saints hosted Tampa Bay the following week needing answers at quarterback, on the offensive line, and defensively. For complete statistics and play-by-play details, Pro Football Reference’s official game page provides comprehensive coverage.

KC’s stat sheet dominance on this October night proved their championship formula still worked even when not perfect. New Orleans headed into a crucial stretch needing to solve problems that went far deeper than one Monday night loss. These player stats didn’t just show a 26-13 defeat. They showed two franchises heading in opposite directions during the 2024 season.