NEW ORLEANS – – Patrick Mahomes’ repertoire of side arm throws, basketball-style pushovers, trick flips and infamous improvisation has weakened another much-appreciated defense.
Mahomes passed 254 yards and three touchdowns, and the Kansas City Chiefs extended their winning streak to nine games with their 32-29 win over New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
“Patrick is more impressive than I could have imagined,” said Levon Bell, who joined the Chiefs team in mid-October and scored 12 yards on optional ground from Mahomes. “He’s more impressive personally … I’m lucky to be a teammate.”
The Kansas City defense played its part in spoiling Drew Breeze’s comeback from broken ribs and a punctured lung that kept record-breaking passersby out of four matches.
While Brees passed 234 yards and three TDs, he completed less than half of his passes and was only intercepted for the fourth time this season.
“I wasn’t really effective, of course, at the passing game,” Bryce said. “I would say this was a combination of forcing some things to work in the field rather than just finishing down. There were some errors.”
This victory kept the defender of the Super Bowl Chiefs (13-1) in the center stage to clinch his only playoff match in the AFC as the number one seed. Meanwhile, Team Saints (10-4) missed an opportunity to snatch NFC South for the second week in a row and are now long shots to capture the NFC number one.
Mahoms ‘scoring passes went 5 yards to both Terek Hill and Mikul Hardman, and the latter comes as the Chiefs’ graceful QB retreated towards the left sideline to avoid pressure and fired a throw to the back corner of the finish area, where Hardman managed to deactivate it in traffic while getting on two feet with difficulty .
Saints coach Sean Payton said of Mahomes, “The biggest challenge is when he extends his plays. The 2.5 or 3-second track turns into a 5 or 6-second track. That’s tough.”
Mahomes’ second throw from TD looked like a basketball assist, a chest pass to the narrow end Travis Kelsey cuts behind the brackets for a 1-yard score.
“It takes a lot of training in terms of stopping the blocking quickly, and finding a way to get him there,” Mahomes said, noting that Chiefs scored in the same match against Denver two seasons ago. “The guys did a great job giving me a lane to throw it.”
Mahomes later used a trick front flip to Kelce for a two-point diversion after Bell’s TD, giving Presidents a 15–29 lead in the fourth quarter.
Bale’s score came once after a defensive end for the saint Cameron Jordan was reported for a personal foul and expelled for hitting striker Andrew Wylie.
Wiley said, “We knew that the only chance they had against those seven front was if we took the fight with them. It was a quarrel too.”
Team Saints tumbled down to 29-22 when Trey Hendrickson stripped Mahomes while doing his second bag in the game, scoring Alvin Kamara’s score at 14 yards in a short shot and running across a group of players along the right sideline.
Kansas City responded with a field goal before Breeze pulled New Orleans into a field goal with a 17-yard pass to Lil Jordan Humphrey with a 2:06 to go.
With two time limits remaining, the Saints shot off in depth, but were unable to stop Mahomes and Co. Out of watch.
Highlight reel
Only 3,000 tickets were sold for this high-profile match between the contenders, but attendees got a first-hand look at Mahomes’ charming and unconventional flair for drama.
At the third and eighth diversion, Mahomes swept right to avoid a defensive intervention by David Onimata, then suddenly stopped and ascended as Jordan faltered in a close chase. Mahomes then fired a pass to Sammy Watkins to gain 23 yards. The play expanded the impulse that culminated with Kelce’s TD.
“Sami was kind of my last reading,” Mahomes said, referring to his offensive line and receivers to never give up the play. “You gotta have guys who keep fighting the whole game.”
Slow start
Brees ‘first three passes fell incomplete before his fourth was intercepted by L’Jarius Sneed on New Orleans’ 36-yard streak, setting up the Hill team that made him 7-0.
The Brees needed more than a full quarter to complete a pass or lead the Saints to its first descent. His first completion came on a seventh pass. After a few plays, Emmanuel Sanders struck 51 yards down the right sideline to set up a 1-yard TD track from Taysom Hill.
The Saints cut it 14-9 at the end of the game safely when the payout of Chiefs Demarcus Robinson flopped in the finish area. Alex Anzalone, the Saints midfielder, tried to fall for him, but he walked off limits.
The Saints progressed briefly from 15-14 early in the third quarter when Brees found Latavius Murray late in a play that appeared to be collapsing and darted back 24 yards.
Injuries
The Presidents: Clyde Edwards-Hillier needed help in the locker room in the fourth quarter, and he didn’t put pressure on his left leg. Andy Reid, coach of the team leaders, said the X-rays were negative, but Edwards Hillier needed further evaluation. Reid said full back Emmanuel Smith had a hamstring injury.
Saints: Receiver Tre’Quan Smith and Salameh Marcus Williams both left ankle injuries in the second half.
next one
Presidents: On Sunday they host Atlanta in their first two home matches to end the regular season.
Saints: They sealed their schedule on their home turf against Minnesota on Christmas Day.
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