The Kansas City Chiefs took a visit to the Superdome in New Orleans to play the Saints. The Saints quarterback Drew Brees made his return from injury and was ready to take on the Chiefs without his number one receiver Michael Thomas. Meanwhile, the Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes came out of a three interception day against the Miami Dolphins but he still prevailed over them. This wasn’t that huge of a game for Kansas City because they had already clinched their division and were now just fighting against the Steelers for the first round bye. On the other side, this game was a must win for the Saints because the Green Bay Packers had a lead over them for the first round bye and the Saints had clinched the wild card. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were right behind them for taking over the division and the Saints needed to control the gap between them. This game was also the clash between the young star Mahomes and the amazing quarterback Drew Brees. Both QB’s had broken records and were ready to battle it out for their team. Both quarterbacks had already faced Tom Brady earlier in the season and played well against him and seemed ready to play against each other.
1st Half-
1st Quarter- The Chiefs got the ball first and had a quick punt after one first down. Drew Brees got the ball and also punted the ball to KC. The Chiefs could still not find momentum so they punted yet again. The Saints got another possession and failed to get something going. Drew Brees threw an interception to Sneed who made an amazing grab to get the ball for the Chiefs. The Chiefs took advantage and got 7 points on the board with a pass from Mahomes to the speedster Tyreek Hill. The next drive was also a disappointment for Sean Payton and the Saints. They failed to get a first down and punted the ball away. The Chiefs had a tough defense against them but Mahomes found his magic to get first downs. The Chiefs made it all the way to the two yard line before Mahomes gave a chest pass to Travis Kelce, their spectacular tight end for the touchdown. Harrison Butker made the extra point and made it 14-0.
2nd Quarter- The second quarter started as punt-ful as the first. Both teams punted once and then the Saints got the ball. This drive started much much stronger than the first 4 drives. Drew Brees launched a 51 yard bomb to Emmanuel Sanders to set up 1st and goal at the Chiefs 2 yard line. They put their aggressive backup QB Taysom Hill who played while Brees was out and led the Saints to 3 wins and 1 loss. He ran the football and muscled through the defense to get the Saints on the board. He got some life for New Orleans as Will Lutz made it 14-7. Both teams punted 2 times apiece after that touchdown. The Saints last punt created some drama in the final minute of the half. Thomas Morstead punted it away and Demarcus Robinson was the returner for the Chiefs. He kept on backtracking away from the swarm of Saints defenders until the ball slipped from his arm. The ball rolled into the end zone and a pack of Saints players raced to it. Anzalone was the first to reach it but unfortunately it squeezed underneath him and out of bounds for a safety. They got 2 points but couldn’t cash in for 6 points. Anzalone had missed a huge chance for his team. The halftime score was 14-9 with Kansas City on top.
2nd Half-
3rd Quarter- The Saints got the ball to start the half and had a chance to take the lead. They had a good opening drive with Drew Brees finding his rhythm. The first play of the drive really got them going. Brees threw a 25 yard throw to Tre’Quan Smith who got injured after that play but Brees threw his 2nd throw to wide receivers and that was a bright spot for them. They kept on moving the sticks and the drive had a sweet finish to it. Brees was under pressure and dumped it of to his second string running back Latavius Murray who sprinted 24 yards for the score. It was a lovely start to the quarter for them and they took the lead. New Orleans went for the 2 point but failed to convert. The score became 14-15 with the Saints on top. It didn’t take long for Kansas City to respond with their superstar Mahomes. They executed an amazing drive ending with a beautiful play. They were at the Saints five yard line and Mahomes was throwing the ball. He threw it to Mecole Hardman in the back of the end zone who made an amazing two foot drag catch to give his team the lead. It was a spectacular throw and catch to score the touchdown. After that TD it was fairly boring. There were three punts, two by the Saints and one by KC. Kansas City got the ball back towards the end of the quarter and extended their lead. Mahomes took it to the red zone and then did an option run play. He ran past scrimmage and then pitched it to Le’Veon Bell who went down the sidelines for a 12 yard rushing touchdown. It was a great play design by the Chiefs and it worked out well. They went for the two point conversion and got it. Mahomes threw a simple underhand shovel pass to Travis Kelce and he bulled through for 2 points. That was pretty much the end of the 3rd quarter. 29-15 with the Saints losing.
4th Quarter- even in the beginning of the 4th the Saints could do nothing. They punted the ball and gave the ball back to KC. But the Saints got lucky when Mahomes had the ball. They got pressure on Mahomes and he got overwhelmed with it and lost the football. The Saints scooped up the ball and regained possession for the offense. Brees took advantage of the turnover and responded. He flipped it to Alvin Kamara who was running across when Brees started the play. All he had to do was give a quick underhand toss to Kamara and Kamara did the rest. He fought his way through Chiefs defenders for a fourteen yard receiving touchdown. That made it 29-22 as the Saints inched closer to tying the game. Kansas City then did a quick drive and got a field goal to make it a two possession game. 32-22. Drew Brees was getting into a seam and it was getting harder to stop him. He made it a three point game as he pulled of a superb drive. It closed with a seventeen yard touchdown reception from Brees to Lil’Jordan Humphrey who made a nice catch to get close to tying the game. That made it 32-29 as the Saints were rallying closer to Mahomes and the Chiefs. But Mahomes had other plans. He closed the game as the drive was being unstoppable and the Saints defense could do nothing. He killed the time and didn’t let Brees back on the field and made the Chiefs 13-1 and the Saints 10-4. The final score was 32-29 with the Chiefs winning the game.
It was a great game with plenty of excitement and the two quarterbacks had a good fight at it. As good as the Saints defense was they couldn’t deny Mahomes as he pulled off amazing plays in the game to get the win. Drew Brees struggled early on but settled in later and put up a fight in the loss. This was a game that we could see in February in the Super Bowl. Chiefs 32 and Saints 29.
THE END