KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Smith huddled with Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy in front of his locker, not more than 15 minutes after Kansas City had beaten the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
If they were already dissecting his performance, they weren’t going to find many faults.
Smith threw two touchdown passes in another calm, efficient outing, and Daniel Sorensen returned an interception of Drew Brees for another score as the Chiefs held on for a 27-21 victory.
“Everybody trusts Alex, man. Alex is a pro,” said Tyreek Hill, who made an acrobatic 38-yard TD catch to help the Chiefs (4-2) win their ninth consecutive home game.
Smith was helped by another big game from Spencer Ware, the one-time fill-in for Jamaal Charles who’s become a star. He had 77 yards rushing to go with a 46-yard TD catch.
Brees tried to rally the Saints (2-4) once again, pulling them within 24-21 on a touchdown pass to Brandon Coleman with 2:33 left. But the ensuing onside kick went out of bounds, Kansas City added a field goal and the Saints could do nothing in the final 28 seconds to change the outcome.
Brees finished with 367 yards and three TD passes, and became the first player with 100 games with at least 300 yards passing. But much of that offense came while he was trying to rally his team. It was another uneven performance away from the Superdome for the New Orleans quarterback, who was coming off a 465-yard game last week against Carolina.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs showed some moxie after falling into an early 7-0 hole.
Ware’s touchdown on a screen pass and Sorensen’s pick-six off a batted ball quickly turned the momentum, and Hill added his long touchdown reception to make it 21-7 at the break.