NFL Scores: Kansas City Chiefs Send New Orleans Saints Closer To Rebuilding Period

The New Orleans Saints are in a precarious position in the NFL. The team has a rare franchise quarterback, but their roster is not equipped to contend for the Super Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Saints on Sunday, as reported by ESPN. That moves New Orleans a little closer towards pulling the trigger on a rebuilding period.

The Kansas City Chiefs have grown to become pretty dominant when they are playing at Arrowhead Stadium. The franchise has won nine straight games there. A lot of that is because the fans are rowdy enough to disrupt the opposing teams. They managed to do that to the New Orleans Saints today.

For the game, the New Orleans Saints had four false starts and delay of game penalties. Much of that was because of the crowd noise at Arrowhead Stadium. Those additional yards helped the Kansas City Chiefs pick up another victory.

Go inside the Chiefs locker room with @Garmin for the post-game celebration and a special presentation to Coach Reid. https://t.co/QT1cRcqYSj

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 23, 2016

Drew Brees is a franchise quarterback in the NFL. He’s one of the rare talents that can win games on his own. Unfortunately, he’s getting up there in age, and the New Orleans Saints have not been able to surround him with enough talent to get back to the Super Bowl.

Against the Kansas City Chiefs, Drew Brees proved again that he can put up some pretty impressive numbers. The veteran quarterback had three touchdowns to go with 367 passing yards. NFL passers would love to have days like that, but they would much rather prefer a victory to go along with it.

Alex Smith is no Drew Brees. Everyone knows that now. Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is fully aware of that so he game plans around the strengths and weaknesses of his starting quarterback. Smith was once again efficient as a game manager, scoring two touchdowns and throwing zero interceptions.

The New Orleans Saints had a good effort from their ground game. Mark Ingram, Tim Hightower, and John Kuhn combined for 104 rushing yards. They failed to produce a touchdown, but it was still a solid effort nonetheless. Saints head coach Sean Payton did not lean too heavily on the running game.

The Kansas City Chiefs also received some help from their rushing attack. The group combined for 112 yards. The Chiefs were not able to score a rushing touchdown, but the production was enough to help keep their defense fresh. Spencer Ware led the game with 77 rushing yards today.

With 367 yards and three touchdowns, the New Orleans Saints had a decent outing with their passing game. Michael Thomas looked like a star in the making against the Kansas City Chiefs. The rookie wide receiver amassed 130 yards on 10 receptions. It was clearly the best game that the former Ohio State Buckeyes star has had since joining the NFL this year.

Since they were ahead in the first half by a score of 21-7, the Kansas City Chiefs did not rely as much on their wide receiving corps in the second half. That’s why they were fine with the 17 receptions, 214 passing yards and two touchdowns for the day.

Mathematically, the New Orleans Saints can still win the NFC South, especially since the Carolina Panthers have struggled badly this season. Plus, the division-leading Atlanta Falcons are only one game above a winning record. However, it would be hard to blame the Saints for thinking about the future at this point in time.

For the Kansas City Chiefs, they are now tied with the Denver Broncos and just one win behind the Oakland Raiders. The competitive AFC West should be a fun division to watch for the rest of the season.

[Featured Image by Jason Hanna/Getty Images]