Four Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs' 26-13 Win Over the NO Saints

The Kansas City Chiefs hosted the New Orleans Saints in Week 5 of NFL action, and there was plenty to take away from the Monday Night Football contest.

Oct 7, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) throws a pass as New Orleans Saints safety Johnathan Abram (24) defends during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Another week, another example of the Kansas City Chiefs not operating quite at full capacity but still securing a victory anyway. Week 5 may have been the best one yet, however, featuring a double-digit final scoring margin.

On the Monday Night Football stage, the back-to-back Super Bowl champs took down the visiting New Orleans Saints by a score of 26-13. With the win, Kansas City rises to a perfect 5-0 on the year and heads into the bye week getting some well-deserved time off.

With that in mind, here are four takeaways from Monday's game.

The Chiefs' defense set the tone early and often

Steve Spagnuolo's defense may not be the same group it was last season, but that's perfectly fine for now. Coming into Monday's outing against New Orleans, the Chiefs were just above the average line in passing EPA per play in Weeks 1-4. That, paired with some surprisingly great run defense and a proclivity for buckling down late in games, made for a reliable unit as the offense has worked to find its footing. Monday was no different.

The opening half of play did see safety Bryan Cook get beat by wideout Rashid Shaheed on a deep touchdown but outside of that, things went quite smoothly. New Orleans gained just five first downs in quarters one and two, amassing 112 offensive yards and having four drives end in either a punt or turnover. In the final two frames, the Saints had one added score but averaged a measly 3.7 yards per play while getting the ball for less than 10 minutes of game time. That level of performance will beat just about any team. Faced with another legitimate test, the Kansas City defense passed yet again.

Monday provided the first real look at a Rashee Rice-less passing offense

Kansas City knew it was going to be without star wide receiver Rashee Rice in Week 5, and things are looking even worse now. Despite the second-year man seemingly avoiding a full ACL tear, his 2024-25 campaign appears to be over due to LCL damage. Surgery on Tuesday could determine the final extent of damage to his knee but either way, the Chiefs will have to operate in a post-Rice world for months. Outside of a fire drill-type stretch in Week 1, Monday provided the first real example of what that looks like.

Early on, it was the tight end show. Patrick Mahomes almost exclusively targeted tight ends in the first quarter, and he completed passes to just that position. The Chiefs eventually opened things up to wideouts; JuJu Smith-Schuster got the majority of the love there, which made sense given how Mahomes talked about him earlier this week. Rookie Xavier Worthy also made an impact despite not clicking at all times with Mahomes (more on that later). The returns were better than expected, as the Chiefs hovered over six yards per play for a huge chunk of the game and had over 400 total net yards. It's hard to not be happy with that output, especially considering the circumstances.

The running back room still goes through Kareem Hunt

In the Chiefs' Week 4 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, rookie fullback Carson Steele got a chance to open the game but fumbled and never truly bounced back. The undrafted free agent logged two total rushes and one target in the passing game, seeing both Samaje Perine and Kareem Hunt pass him in reps. Perine was fine, but Hunt stole the show with 69 rushing yards and 16 receiving yards. He picked up where he left off on Monday.

Hunt's per-rush effectiveness didn't sustain in Week 5, but he remained solid nonetheless. On 27 carries, the veteran halfback totaled 102 yards and also had a 15-yard reception out of the backfield. Even with a longest run of merely eight yards, Hunt's ability to do damage on early downs and serve as a late-down battering ram is extremely helpful. He's carved out a nice role in a few short weeks, and the volume doesn't appear to be going anywhere while Isiah Pacheco continues to work his way back from a broken fibula.

Outlining what the Chiefs' priorities should be during the bye week

It's hard to nitpick too many things for an undefeated team. Considering the caliber of some of Kansas City's opponents thus far, namely their first three, escaping what was once perceived as a gauntlet without a loss is a feat in and of itself. Still, though, there's plenty to focus on as the bye week approaches. Most of it resides with that wide receiver position.

Following Monday's game, general manager Brett Veach has nearly two full weeks to work the phones before the Chiefs take the field next. During that time, it'd behoove the organization to inquire about the availability other teams' top wide receivers. In addition to that, finding a way to get Mahomes and Worthy on the same page is the absolute top non-transaction priority (or it should be). Mahomes missed the first-round pick on several occasions on Monday, just like he has all season. When Worthy gets targeted in the passing game, good things happen. That has to be the case more frequently coming out of the bye.

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