After two road wins, the Kansas City Chiefs will return home to Arrowhead to play their peskiest opponent yet. Back in their stadium, the Chiefs will host the New Orleans Saints, a team that started strong but has struggled lately. The Saints are just coming off a very close loss to the Falcons and are seemingly hungry for a win against the defending champions.
The Chiefs are coming off of a low-scoring game with the Los Angeles Chargers, where both teams were in it until the very end. For this week, the Chiefs will focus on welcoming the Saints to Arrowhead for the first time since 2016. This will be their first matchup since 2020, where the Chiefs won 32-29.
The Chiefs are 7-5 against the Saints all time and have scored 292 points. In this contest, the Chiefs need to focus on controlling the Saints' offense and keeping them to as few points as possible. The Saints have the highest-scoring offense in the league this season, so the Chiefs' defense is going to be tested this week.
Game Info
Date: Monday, October 7
Start Time: 7:15 p.m. CT
Location: Kansas City, MO
Stadium: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
TV Info: ESPN (Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the call)
Chiefs Uniform Info: Red Tops, White Bottoms
Saints 2024 Statistical Rankings
Points Per Game: 31.8 (1st)
Points Allowed Per Game: 17.5 (6th)
Offensive Yards Per Game: 349 (9th)
Passing/Rushing Yards Per Game: 201.5 (19th) and 147.5 (7th)
Defensive Yards Allowed Per Game: 330.3 (17th)
Passing/Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 233.8 (25th) and 96.5 (7th)
Third Down Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 53.19% (2nd) and 35.42% (15th)
Red Zone Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 75% (2nd) and 22.22% (1st)
Penalties: 24 (13th)
Penalty Yards: 220 (19th)
Players Already Ruled Out Before Monday
Saints: Willie Gay Jr (LB), Taysom Hill (TE), Cesar Ruiz (C/G), Shane Lemieux (C/G), Payton Turner (DE)
Chiefs: N/A
New Orleans Saints
Defense
After a rough year for the Saints, the defense has been stunning. They are currently ranked 6th in the league in points allowed per game and have only surrendered one touchdown pass so far. For a Chiefs offense that has undoubtedly struggled with its passing game, this may prove to be beneficial for the Saints.
This game also marks the return of safety Tyrann Mathieu, who played for the Chiefs for three seasons. Mathieu was very beneficial to the Chiefs' defense and was a key reason they won the Super Bowl in 2020. Mathieu's return for the Saints is significant since he already has two interceptions this year. Lining up against Mahomes in an off year might be a breakout for Mathieu while he is in an environment that he is used to.
In this game, the defense needs to generate turnovers at minimum, and hopefully score some points of their own. With one of the best scoring defenses in the league, the Saints will have the upper hand in getting on the board. So far this season, Patrick Mahomes has been throwing interceptions at a very high rate. Scoring on these drives would take some of the pressure off of the Saints offense,
Offense
In the first two games of the season, the Saints offense looked unstoppable. They scored 47 points in their opening game against the Carolina Panthers and then dropped 44 points on the Dallas Cowboys the next game. Since then, the offense has come back down to earth, scoring only 41 combined points the next two games. With offensive line injuries, it's clear that these issues might continue for the Saints.
The problems for the Saints' offense lie in their lack of depth. Chris Olave and Rasheed Shaheed have been great for the team, yet the rest of the receivers aren't even seeing targets. Alvin Kamara has continuously been one of the best running backs in the league when he is healthy, yet his runs aren't enough to establish dominance on the offensive side.
In this game, the Saints need to try to establish a run game despite injuries throughout the offensive line. With Kamara's star power, the Chiefs' defense will have a tough time containing him. It would also be beneficial if the Saints could get their tight ends going, but the lack of depth behind the injured T*ysom Hill might be detrimental to the team.
Kansas City Chiefs
Defense
At this point in the season, it has been no secret that the Chiefs' defense has been the deciding factor in most games. When the offense is struggling, the defense is there to back them up, regardless of the score. Last week's game against the Chargers was no different. The Chiefs kept them off the board for three quarters after scoring 10 in the first.
This Chiefs defense is very familiar with the quarterback they will be facing since Carr was a member of the Raiders before heading to the Saints in free agency. This may be beneficial for the team since the Saints will be threatening when it comes to scoring.
In this game, the defense needs to make sure it can stop the Saints early. It's been a common theme this season that the Chiefs give up points on opening drives, allowing teams to get an early lead. With an offense as hot as the Saints, the Chiefs cannot allow them to get an early lead. However, as long as they can stifle the run game, they should be able to keep them off the scoreboard.
Offense
Now that Rashee Rice is officially getting surgery next week, there is a very big hole on the offensive side of the ball. While the Chiefs still don't have a timetable for when Rice will return, it's sure to be at least most of the season. This week will be especially hard for the Chiefs since Mecole Hardman will most likely be out with a knee injury as well.
In the meantime, the offense must focus on getting the ball to Travis Kelce and Xavier Worthy. After a breakout game from Kelce, fans will hope he can continue to put up these numbers for the rest of the season. Worthy has been great for the offense so far, and his targets are almost guaranteed to go up now that Rice is out. The offense will also need to focus more on the run game, especially since Kareem Hunt was so successful against the Chargers last week.
In this game, the offense will need to keep up with the Saints' offense. While it is still a mystery which offense will show up for the Saints, they are probably going to score a decent amount of points no matter what. Kelce needs to continue to do what he did last game and step up as Mahomes' number-one receiver again.
Betting Info
Points Spread: NO +5.5 (-108) | KC -5.5 (-112)
Moneyline: NO +210 | KC -258
Over/Under: NO O 43 (-112) | KC U 43 (-108)
Lines via DraftKings as of Friday, October 4
Prediction
From a statistical standpoint, the Saints might be the biggest threat to the Chiefs so far this season. The Saints have a tough offense that might test the Chiefs' defense until the end. At the end of the day, it should be a low-scoring affair, especially with how the Chiefs' offense has performed lately. If this game was in New Orleans, it might've had a different outcome, but I feel like the Chiefs have the upper hand at Arrowhead.
Final Score: Chiefs 13, Saints 10
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