KANSAS CITY, Mo. — — Patrick Mahomes threw for several yards. Travis Kelce caught a lot of his passes. And Kareem Hunt plowed into the end zone again, sending a shower of red fireworks over Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night.

It might as well have been six years ago, the last time the trio of Chiefs played a home game together.

But with injuries ravaging their offense, the Chiefs were forced to lean on two of their stalwarts and the return of their former star running back to defeat the Saints, 26-13. Mahomes finished with 331 yards through the air, Kelce had a game-high nine catches for 70 yards, and Hunt ran 27 times for 102 yards and a touchdown.

“It was a great feeling to get back into the end zone. I missed it a lot,” said Hunt, who only returned to the Chiefs a few weeks ago after an injury to starter Isiah Pacheco. ‘That’s why I surrendered a heart. To show my love for Kansas City.”

There was a lot of love pouring into Arrowhead Stadium.

Just as the Chiefs moved to 5-0 behind another defensive gem, the Royals defeated the Yankees in Game 2 of their AL Division Series in New York. There were frequent chants of “Let’s go Royals!” throughout the game, and when the Royals pulled out a 4-2 victory to send the series back to Kansas City at a tie apiece, a roar ripped through Arrowhead.

“There was a kind of silence towards the end of the game and I thought, ‘They’re not showing the score. The Yankees came back,” said Mahomes, who owns part of the Royals. “But they picked it up and got the win, and it was extremely exciting.”

The Chiefs held Saints quarterback Derek Carr to 185 yards passing for two touchdowns and an interception before leaving with an oblique injury. It happened with about 9 1/2 minutes left, when Carr was hit by defensive back Chamarri Conner on a fourth-down incompletion while trying to save New Orleans from a 23-13 deficit.

“I couldn’t do what I had to do in the simplest form,” said Carr, who plans to undergo an MRI examination on Tuesday.

The Saints’ Alvin Kamara managed 26 yards on 11 carries, becoming the latest high-profile running back to battle the Chiefs. They held the Ravens’ Derrick Henry to 46 yards rushing, the Bengals’ Zack Moss to 34, Falcons star Bijan Robinson to 31 and JK Dobbins to 32 in last week’s win over the Chargers.

“We got outplayed,” Saints coach Dennis Allen said. “We didn’t really get much movement on either side of the ball.”

The first half of Monday night featured a lot of things: Hunt’s first TD since returning to Kansas City, where his once-promising career was derailed by an off-field incident; a 43-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Rashid Shaheed, the shortest of the three Shaheed has caught this season; and another lateral from Kelce, who came on the most bizarre drives.

The Chiefs led 10-7 when a fumble and a holding penalty left them at second and 34. They got some back on a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster, after which Mahomes hit Kelce over the middle. Kelce turned laterally to Samaje Perine, who came within a yard of a first down, and Kansas City converted on fourth-and-short play to set up an eventual field goal.

However, it was exactly that – field goals – that kept New Orleans in the game. The Chiefs have struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone all season, and they had to let Harrison Butker hit a trio of chip shots to lead 16-7 at halftime.

Their red zone troubles continued in the third quarter. On the second and goal, Smith-Schuster deflected a pass off his hands at the goal line and into the arms of 324-pound former Chiefs defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, who made his first career interception.

The Saints promptly marched 65 yards on Foster Moreau’s TD catch, bringing them within 16-13 with 14:16 to play.

But unlike every other game for the Chiefs, which was decided in the final minutes – if not the last play – they returned the blow by delivering one of their own. Smith-Schuster hauled in a 50-yard pass moments later, and Xavier Worthy took a handoff on first-and-goal at the 3 for a touchdown that extended their cushion early in the fourth quarter.

After the Chiefs stopped the Saints on fourth down, they scored another field goal with 3:03 remaining to put the game away.

“It’s pretty cool to get the band back together,” said Smith-Schuster, who is also back with the Chiefs after spending a few years in New England. “Man, I’m telling you, there’s no place like it. What we have here is special. It’s unreal.”

Tay-Tay returns

Taylor Swift was back at Arrowhead Stadium to watch Kelce and the Chiefs after missing her boyfriend’s previous two road games. She resumes her record-breaking Eras Tour Friday night with the first of three shows in Miami.

Injuries

Saints: CB Will Harris injured his hamstring in the first half. C Lucas Patrick left briefly in the third quarter with a collarbone injury,

Chiefs: LT Wanya Morris left in the first half with a lower leg injury but returned to the game.

Next

New Orleans hosts Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Kansas City has a week off before visiting San Francisco on October 20.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL