CNN
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The Kansas City Chiefs maintained their undefeated start to the season with a comfortable 26-13 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football.

It wasn’t always pretty for the two-time reigning Super Bowl champions, but big performances from returning veterans Kareem Hunt and JuJu Smith-Schuster helped them improve to 5-0.

Hunt finished with 27 carries for 102 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Smith-Schuster had seven catches for 130 receiving yards. Both players were signed midseason to cover the growing injury list that Kansas City is dealing with.

The pair’s production ended sterile series dating back years; Smith-Schuster’s performance marked his first 100-yard dash since Week 7, 2022, while Hunt’s 100-yard burst marked the first time he reached the milestone since Week 10 in 2020.

Afterwards, quarterback Patrick Mahomes spoke about the impact both players have had since returning to the team. Hunt was drafted by the Chiefs in 2017 before leaving for the Cleveland Browns, and Smith-Schuster was part of the 2022 Super Bowl LVII winning squad.

“Coach Reid knows their skill set and knows how to put them in great positions,” Mahomes, who finished with 331 passing yards, no touchdowns and one interception, told reporters. “Kareem just runs extremely fast. He gets every meter there is. He catches the ball and does everything he can to go out and win.

“Then JuJu, even if he didn’t get a lot of reps, was in the playbook and learning. The things he had lost in one year, you all saw him two years ago. He fits well in this offense. We did a great job today and it was cool to get those guys going and stepping up.”

On the other hand, the Chiefs’ defense limited Derek Carr and the Saints to just 220 yards of offensive yardage, giving up just two touchdowns, while Kansas City’s offense did just enough to continue the winning streak.

The tone of the game was set early when Carr was intercepted by Bryan Cook on the game’s first drive and Hunt scored a touchdown on Kansas City’s first possession.

After a Harrison Butker field goal, New Orleans cut the deficit to three points with a 43-yard pass from Carr to Rashid Shaheed to put the Saints on the board.

But two more Butker field goals rebuilt Kansas City’s lead before another Saints TD made it a three-point game again.

When it looked like there would be a close end, the Chiefs produced their second touchdown drive of the game, with rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy running into the end zone from close range.

Worthy was able to celebrate the moment in a special way by giving the touchdown ball to his mother in the stands to celebrate her birthday before exchanging a hug.

A final field goal from Butker capped off the victory as the Chiefs continued their excellent opening to the season.

Mahomes complimented his team on finding “different ways” to win this season even as injuries piled up.

“At the end of the day, our defense plays its tail off and I think people are starting to realize that even if we get field goals, that’s going to keep us in these games.” told reporters after the game.

“Obviously we had a better day offensively today – a lot of yards. Now it’s about finding ways to finish with touchdowns in the red zone so we can make those jumps bigger (and) faster and then we can (defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) let Spags really be Spags. I think if we can do that, we will continue to get better over the years.”

For the Saints it is the third loss in a row after they started the season electrically in attack. The defeat was made worse when Carr left the game midway through the fourth quarter with an oblique injury.

There was a moment to savor for New Orleans fans when the team’s defensive tackle Khalen Saunders intercepted Mahomes in the end zone before running the ball back 36 yards. According to the NFL, Saunders reached a top speed of 15.79 mph upon his return, the third-fastest speed for a ball carrier weighing more than 320 pounds since 2016.