- WHERE: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, Mo.)
- WHEN: 8:15 p.m. ET | ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, NFL+
The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will play their third prime-time game of the season to close Week 5 action.
The New Orleans Saints (2-2) started the season looking like NFC playoff contenders by scoring 91 points combined in their wins over the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. The last two games, however, have had different results for New Orleans. In the last two weeks, the Saints are averaging 18 points per game in their losses.
With the Atlanta Falcons winning Thursday’s overtime thriller over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Saints wouldn’t like to fall behind in the NFC South picture.
Meanwhile, Kansas City (4-0) is only one of two teams (Minnesota Vikings) entering Week 5 undefeated. All four of the Chiefs’ wins have been by seven points or less. In Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Chiefs rallied back from a 10-point deficit to sneak a win at SoFi Stadium.
Can New Orleans pull off an upset in Kansas City? Or are the Chiefs going to remain undefeated heading into their bye week?
Here are four things to watch for when the Saints visit the Chiefs on Monday night on ESPN and NFL+:
1) Can Carr steer his way back to form? The Saints and Derek Carr will attempt not to look at the history books heading into Monday’s matchup with Kansas City. The former Raiders quarterback is 3-14 against the Chiefs in his career, Carr's worst win-to-loss ratio versus any opponent with a minimum of five games, per NFL Research. His last victory against the Chiefs was in Week 5 of the 2020 season. Since 2022, the Saints under head coach Dennis Allen have the NFL’s worst record in prime-time games with a 1-5 record. On a positive note, the Saints this season are the only club with a winning record to score on its opening possession in each game. Entering Monday’s contest, Carr currently has the highest passer rating of his career at 103.9, to go along with 824 passing yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. After starting the season as one of the hottest quarterbacks, Carr will need to deliver a memorable performance against a team he knows very well from his past.
2) How different will the Chiefs offense look without their WR1? Sometimes a win can feel like a loss. That was the case in Kansas City’s Week 4 victory when Patrick Mahomes threw an interception and tried to make a tackle, hitting Rashee Rice instead. The Chiefs placed Rice (knee) on injured reserve earlier this week. Rice led the club with 24 receptions and 288 receiving yards. Who will fill in Rice’s production? Travis Kelce had 89 receiving yards in Rice’s absence during the win, which was more than his first three games combined (69). In the Chiefs’ last game, Xavier Worthy played a season-high 74.1 percent of snaps with Justin Watson (69%) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (51.7%) trailing the rookie. Behind Mahomes, the Chiefs' running back position appears to be unfolding week to week. With Isiah Pacheco dealing with a fractured fibula, the last three weeks have had a different back lead the team in carries and rushing yards. In the last two weeks, rookie Carson Steele and veteran Kareem Hunt led the charge, respectively. Monday’s game could provide a clearer picture of how the offense will be without Rice but also who’s emerging as the RB1 in Pacheco’s absence.
3) The Saints can’t only rely on Kamara. New Orleans’ offense has shown inconsistency at times through the first four games of the season, but Alvin Kamara deserves a lot of credit for holding his own when called upon. Kamara has been playing at a historic pace. He’s the fifth player since 1950 with 350-plus rushing yards, five-plus rush TDs and 150-plus receiving yards in his team’s first four games of the season, per NFL Research. It will be a challenge with Kansas City’s eighth-ranked run defense, which only allows 99 rush yards per game. With Kamara dealing with ribs and hip injuries, the Saints need to rely on Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. Other than Kamara, Olave and Shaheed are the only pass catchers with 10-plus receptions this season. If Derek Carr and the Saints would like to pull off an upset, they’ll need it to be a group effort with tight ends Foster Moreau and Juwan Johnson involved in Monday’s contest.
4) It appears Kansas City’s recipe to win is with its defense. In years past, the Chiefs have been a high-scoring juggernaut headlined by Patrick Mahomes. But recently and so far this season, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit has become a co-star next to the QB. Since 2023, the Chiefs defense has ranked in the top three in points per game allowed (17.4), total yards per game (296.8) and sacks (68). Spagnuolo’s defense has allowed fewer total yards than the previous week in each game to begin the season (452 vs. Ravens; 320 vs. Bengals; 311 at Falcons; 224 at Chargers). Defensive tackle Chris Jones leads the team with three sacks and is the only Chiefs player with more than one sack. The positive for New Orleans is that through the first four weeks, the Chiefs have allowed a score on each of their opponent's first possessions. Not allowing a score to begin Monday’s game is going to be crucial for Kansas City’s defense with a new identity taking place on offense.