KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have plenty of issues to address during their bye week.
Those issues are a lot more pleasant to handle when you're 5-0.
Despite continued turnover problems, penalties at inopportune times and their inability to consistently turn red zone trips into touchdowns — to say nothing of injuries to some of their most prominent offensive players — the Chiefs stayed unbeaten Monday night when they shut down Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints in a 26-13 victory.
Once again, the Chiefs leaned on their suddenly stingy defense. But they also turned to a couple of old hands in Kareem Hunt and JuJu Smith-Schuster to help carry the offensive load. Smith-Schuster returned after a stint in New England following an injury to Marquis Brown, and he caught seven passes for 130 yards. Hunt, who began his career in Kansas City and signed just two weeks ago following an injury to Isiah Pacheco, rumbled for 102 yards and a touchdown.
“We've won different ways,” said Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who threw for 331 yards with an interception. “At the end of the day, our defense is playing their tail off, and I think people are starting to come to realize that even more.”
Yet problems remain.
The pick that Mahomes threw to former Chiefs defensive tackle Khalen Saunders meant they failed to win the turnover margin for the 16th straight regular-season game — the third-longest streak since 1960. Right tackle Jawaan Taylor was flagged two more times and is tied for the third-most penalties of any player in the NFL. And perhaps most alarming, the Chiefs were 2 of 7 in scoring touchdowns when they marched inside the New Orleans 20 on Monday night.
“Obviously, offensively we had a better day,” Mahomes said. "Now, it’s about finding ways to finish with touchdowns in the red zone so we can make these leaps bigger, faster. ... I think if we can do that, then we’ll continue to get better and better.”
The Chiefs held the Saints' Alvin Kamara to 26 yards rushing on 11 carries, continuing a trend of shutting down star running backs. Derrick Henry of the Ravens, Zack Moss of the Bengals, JK Dobbins of the Chargers, Bijan Robinson of the Falcons and Kamara have combined to run for 135 yards against Kansas City this season. They have 1,452 yards against everyone else.
The only teams that are worse than Kansas City at scoring touchdowns in the red zone are Miami and New England, teams that have combined to win three of their first 10 games this season.
Smith-Schuster shined in the Chiefs' first full game without Rashee Rice, who was scheduled to undergo a procedure on his right knee Tuesday to determine the extent of his injury. Rice is unlikely to return this season — the same with Brown — and that means the 27-year-old Smith-Schuster will counted on to provide leadership among the Kansas City wide receiver corps.
“There’s no better feeling than knowing these guys are looking up to you and being a role model," he said. “Every day I set the standard and try to help them out any way I can, not just on the field but off the field."
Harrison Butker has missed field-goal attempts in back-to-back games, something that never occurred last season. If the Chiefs keep settling for field goals in the red zone, Butker has to return to being automatic.
LT Wanya Morris left in the first half with a lower leg injury but returned to the game.
9 — That's the number of times that All-Pro DT Chris Jones pressured Saints quarterbacks. While he failed to get a sack for his efforts, his ability to disrupt the passing game made things difficult on New Orleans.
The Chiefs have the week off, and many players are planning to cross the parking lot to Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday night to see the Royals play the Yankees in Game 3 of their AL Division Series. They return Oct. 20 to start a two-game West Coast swing with a Super Bowl rematch against the 49ers before a game against the AFC West-rival Raiders.
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