On the Week 5 edition of “Monday Night Football” under the bright lights at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, the Kansas City Chiefs controlled their match against the New Orleans Saints from start to finish. Even when it struggled to finish drives in the red zone, the offense was efficient, moving the ball with ease.

Meanwhile, Kansas City continued to prove it’s a versatile team, dominating the Saints’ offensive line by shutting down New Orleans star running back Alvin Kamara and making life hell for quarterback Derek Carr. the Chiefs cruised to a 26–13 victory.

Here are five things we learned.

1. Kareem Hunt is the answer to the Chiefs’ short-yardage woes

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Maybe it’s because he has unfinished business in Kansas City. Maybe he’s an older running back trying to make the most of what could be his last rodeo. Perhaps the wear and tear of the past few years had taken its toll on his body; he just needed a moment to heal. Maybe playing for the hapless Cleveland Browns just broke his soul.

Maybe it’s all those things. But whatever the reason, Hunt is looking better than he ever has for a while.

But it’s not just that Hunt looks better than in recent seasons. He looks better in short-yardage situations than any Kansas City player since Hunt was released in 2018.

While Isiah Pacheco is a great player, vision and patience are not his strengths. Hunt has plenty of both. He excels at reading blockers and diagnosing the defensive line’s weaknesses, using selective bursts to slip past the line of scrimmage and consistently reach the gain line.

What will happen when Pacheco returns from his injury remains to be seen. But in the meantime, when the Chiefs are in a short-yardage situation, Hunt should get the ball 10 out of 10 times.

2. It might work to get the band back together

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When a team loses some playmakers to injury, sometimes the best course of action is to bring in big-name players who can be trusted to run the system. What you might give up in explosive athleticism, you make up for in familiarity.

It’s not just Hunt who is having a renaissance in Kansas City. Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has now stepped into Rashee Rice’s role without hesitation. We shouldn’t be surprised that Kansas City’s most complete offensive performance of the season came when Hunt, Smith-Schuster and Travis Kelce all had great games. There’s a lot of old man strength in this ragtag bunch – and Mahomes has already proven he can win with them.

3. We have a story about two Boltons

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There are two sides to Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton.

The first is a player who doesn’t rather have the athleticism or comfort in the open field to drop back into coverage. He struggles to keep up with faster players running from east to west – and lacks the confidence to break and punch the ball away at the last moment.

The other side is a player who is arguably the NFL’s best downhill linebacker – a man who epitomizes the term “controlled chaos.” No other linebacker can diagnose a running play and explode downhill to stop a running back like Bolton does.

4. Jaylen Watson deserves props

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According to Pro Football Reference, the third-year cornerback has had exactly one pass caught (for a total of 12 yards) through the first four games of the season while playing opposite Trent McDuffie.

Watson continued this strong performance in Monday night’s game.

“McDuffie gets a lot of credit,” head coach Andy Reid said after the game. “He plays like an All-Pro – (and) we take that for granted. (But) this Watson guy? Man, he plays with heart and soul. (He) does a great job for us.”

Going into the season, we didn’t know who would step up to claim the second outside corner spot. But there is no doubt that Watson has taken full control, shutting down opponents and turning half the pitch into a no-fly zone.

5. The Chiefs are good enough to win it all

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Kansas City controlled the ball more than twice as long as the Saints – and won by two touchdowns. Still, it felt like the team was dropping points on the field.

If the offense hadn’t gotten stuck in the red zone, the Chiefs could have easily scored at least 35 points. While that may sound like a complaint, I’m actually impressed that Kansas City emerged with a two-touchdown victory.

Much of the credit for that should go to coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, which has allowed more than 20 points just once in five games. If the team ever discovers the red zone issues, it will be unstoppable.