Sporty.com | NFL: Champion Chiefs down Saints, move to 5-0

Patrick Mahomes threw for 331 yards, Kareem Hunt rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown, and the Kansas City Chiefs remained unbeaten with Monday's 26-13 win over the scuffling New Orleans Saints.

The reigning two-time Super Bowl champions also got four field goals from Harrison Butker and a rushing touchdown from rookie Xavier Worthy to join the Minnesota Vikings as the only teams to start this season 5-0. It's the first time the Chiefs have won their first five games in a campaign since 2018, Mahomes' first season as the team's starting quarterback.

New Orleans have now lost three straight following a 2-0 start and had starting quarterback Derek Carr exit in the fourth quarter with an oblique injury.

Carr threw touchdown passes to Rashid Shaheed and Foster Moreau before departing, but was held to 165 yards on 18-of-28 passing. The Saints managed just 220 total yards against a Kansas City defence that also intercepted Carr on the game's opening possession to stop a drive inside Chiefs' territory.

The Chiefs marched 78 yards in 10 plays following the turnover to take a 7-0 lead on Hunt's 5-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. They extended the margin to 10-0 on Butker's 26-yard field goal early in the second.

Shaheed hauled in Carr's deep pass for a 43-yard touchdown to get New Orleans on the board with 8:36 left before half-time, but two more Butker field goals sent Kansas City into the break owning a 16-7 advantage.

The Saints closed the gap again early in the fourth quarter, as Carr capped an 8-play, 65-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Moreau with 14:16 remaining. Kicker Blake Grupe missed the extra-point try, however, to keep the Chiefs' lead at 16-13.

Kansas City responded on the ensuing possession, though. A 50-yard completion from Mahomes to JuJu Smith-Schuster moved the Chiefs deep into New Orleans territory, and Worthy slithered into the end zone from three yards out on a hand-off three plays later to push Kansas City's lead to 23-13 with under 12 minutes to go.