As the Kansas City Chiefs put the finishing touches on their preparation for the New Orleans Saints, one thing has become abundantly clear. For a couple of teams that don't see each other very often, this AFC-NFC matchup features plenty of respect from both sides.
Much of this is typical gamesmanship as kickoff approaches every week. It really does seem, though, that neither side is sweeping the ability of the other under the rug. Kansas City is 4-0 and back at home for Week 5, and New Orleans may be 2-2 but their offense is one of the NFL's top units after the first month of play.
It's the Saints' defense, though, that has the attention of quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Speaking to the media this week, the two-time MVP said Dennis Allen's group is well-coached and does many things well.
“I think just a very intelligent coach," Mahomes said. "I mean, someone that does a lot of different things. He’s a game plan-specific coach. Someone that – it’s not all about his defense. He looks at the offenses and what they do best [and] he tries to take those away and he’s really good at it. He’ll throw changeups in there [that] you might have not seen the entire season or in his past because he thinks this might work this week.
"It’ll be a great challenge for us. They’re a physical team, they play extremely fast and they have a lot of great players and veteran players so they can kind of get away with stuff because they know what they can and can’t get away with, so you’ve got to make sure that you’re really on top of every single check at the line of scrimmage and prepared for everything whenever you step to the football.”
Some of what New Orleans does on defense could bring out the best of Mahomes. For example, they rank 23rd in pass rush win rate as a team and don't boast a ton of star talent on defense. Their injury report also reads closer to a grocery list or CVS receipt than an abbreviated summary. Additionally, opposing quarterbacks are threatening the Saints down the field more than most defenses in the sport.
On the other hand, Allen and the Saints could prove to be challenging for Mahomes. This is what he's accounting for. Not only are they excellent at taking the ball away and slowing clubs down in the red zone (both top-three marks in the league), but they spend a lot of time in Cover 1 or Cover 2. It used to be that two-high shells were kryptonite for Mahomes, but he hasn't thrived against single-high, either, in 2024.
While Mahomes will be without wide receiver Rashee Rice this week, New Orleans will be missing defensive end Payton Turner and former Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay Jr. On top of that, fellow linebacker Pete Werner was a late-week addition to the injury report with a hamstring ailment. This isn't necessarily the best time for Kansas City to play anyone, although this week's health discrepancy may not be too crazy.
Mahomes himself hasn't played his best football as of late – offensive coordinator Matt Nagy thinks getting back to the basics will help. Is this the week to do it? Mahomes seems acutely aware of what Allen and defensive coordinator Joe Woods are capable of. They reciprocate that, and something's got to give with both sides battling under the Monday Night Football bright lights.
