The New Orleans Saints will be heading to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO in week seven to play the Kansas City Chiefs. The Saints remain undefeated since their week three loss to the Atlanta Falcons. They are heading into Sunday’s game fresh off a critical 41-38 divisional victory over the Carolina Panthers. The Chiefs, who will be playing their first NFC match up this season, are coming off their most well-rounded win of the season after dominating the Oakland Raiders 26-10. The Saints are a seven-point underdog to the Chiefs at home. If Drew Brees and company can continue their offensive assault on the road, a Saints win would make them 3-3, This would place them in a reasonable position to compete for an NFC South playoff spot. While Atlanta remains in the lead, the Saints still have over half of their divisional schedule left to play.
New Orleans Saints Week Seven Keys to Victory
Don’t Let the 12th Man Prevail
The New Orleans Saints are going to need to overcome a loud stadium this Sunday when they head into Kansas. The Chiefs have won their last eight games at home, and are 2-0 this season. In their Week Three win over the New York Jets, they forced eight turnovers and did not allow any touchdowns. KC definitely holds the advantage of having a 12th man on the field this week.
The noise factor inside Arrowhead is very real. The Saints will find themselves walking into a sea of red, with fans focused on screaming and chanting. Audible calls will be a write-off. In October of 2013, Kansas broke the Guinness World Record for reaching the loudest decibel level in any NFL Stadium (137.5). If Drew Brees and his receivers can manage to ignore the sounds of “We’re going to beat the hell out of you, you you,” they can attempt to continue putting up their usual numbers.
Defend the Run
The Saints rank 30th in the NFL against the run and are allowing over 400 yards of total offense per game this year. Their recent tendency has been to line up in soft zone coverage so that they can protect their fledgling corners. However, they don’t have the talent within their front seven to stop the run, and probably should have an extra man or two up front. Although it exposes their corners and they may give up big plays, the reward outweighs the risk since more things can go wrong for the offense by passing than running.
This week, the Saints will be facing a serious threat with running backs Jamaal Charles and Spencer Ware. In their week six defeat over the Raiders, the Chiefs looked good on the ground. While head coach Andy Reid claims that Charles still isn’t ready for a full workload, he scored his first touchdown of the season and rushed for 33 yards with nine carries last week. Ware had 24 carries for a career high of 131 yards and a touchdown, leading all backs. He averaged 7.1 yards per touch. The Chiefs will most likely use the same type of ball control to slow the Saints down as well.
If Kansas City dominates the run game, not only will they keep Brees off the field, but they will wear the Saints defense down entirely by the fourth quarter. This seems to be a pattern with Saints who tend to hold up the score during the first half of the game, and tire towards the end of the game. If the New Orleans defense can’t get themselves organized, both Ware and Charles will have very productive days.
Balance the Offense: Permeate the Chiefs Pass Defense and Utilize the Run Game
Even with a porous defense, the New Orleans offense is a threat to any team. They are ranked second best in the league this season, averaging 31 points per game and are currently number one in the league in passing yards with 335.4 per game. The only other team even close to that number is Atlanta with 300 pass yards per game.
The Saints are walking into Arrowhead with multiple weapons. Drew Brees, now in his 11th season in New Orleans, has over 62,000 yards passing, 442 touchdown passes, nine pro bowl appearances and a Super Bowl ring. This season, he has 1,734 yards and 14 touchdowns this year. Last week, he threw for 465 yards and four touchdowns. It doesn’t get any more impressive than that. His primary target, Brandin Cooks had nine catches last week for 173 yards and a touchdown.
The Saints will be facing one of the better pass defenses of their season on Sunday. ESPN ranked the Chiefs pass defense eighth in the NFL in net passing yards, allowing their rivals only 237 per game. Although the Saints have not utilized their ground game much over the past five games, their week seven match up could force them to run more than usual. There will be pressure on leading rusher Mark Ingram to gain yardage and help put up points for the Saints. He currently has 221 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
