Key takeaways from first half of Chiefs vs. Saints

Not exactly the offensive showdown that many expected out of these two teams in the first half. Instead, defensive football has come to the forefront for both of these teams. It’s been a back-and-forth show of which team can get off the field more quickly. All-in-all we’ve seen just two scoring drives from the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense and they currently lead 14-9 heading into the half. The New Orleans Saints will get the ball coming out of halftime, so it’ll be important for the defense to keep performing.

Here’s a look at some of the things we’ve taken away from the first half of play:

Keep the pressure on Drew Brees

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The pressure from the Chiefs' defensive line is affecting Saints QB Drew Brees early in this one. The only completed pass he had in the first five minutes of the first quarter was to Chiefs CB L'Jarius Sneed. While they didn't get any sacks in that span, they were getting very close and Brees was visibly flustered. The Chiefs' defense kept Brees without a complete pass in his first five passing attempts of the game. According to CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz, that's the first time Brees has ever been held without a complete pass in his first five passes in his entire 20-year NFL career. That's a pretty impressive show by the defense for Kansas City. Whenever Brees drops back to pass, the Chiefs need to keep sending pressure and make sure that he doesn't get comfortable and get into a rhythm. That's how the game can get out of hand for Kansas City.

Keep firing on offense

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The offense looked shaky out of the gate for Kansas City in this one. There were a lot of drops, some great plays by the Saints defense and generally just not a lot of open throws in the first half. Really the best plays seemed to be the ones where things broke down and Patrick Mahomes was allowed to improvise. This is one of the toughest defensive units in the NFL, so it's not expected to be a walk in the park. However, with the weapons that the Chiefs have at their disposal, they need to scheme some more things open. If the safeties are taking away the deep route patterns, mix in some more shallow stuff and quick passes to keep New Orleans off balance. In addition to getting some of these weapons going on offense, the group needs to do a better job in pass protection against a certain look.

Help the tackles, when Saints ends line up wide

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The Saints have been getting some pressure on Patrick Mahomes and it's not just because Andrew Wylie is the starting right tackle. Stefen Wisniewski has struggled at times in his return to action. Eric Fisher gave up a big sack on the blindside. New Orleans has been getting a lot of pressure, but the Chiefs are struggling most against a specific look. When the Saints line their defensive ends up wide, they've been getting pressure. Wylie has had help from Kelce a few times and has still let up pressure on Mahomes. Fisher is struggling in single protection to handle the same type of look on the opposite side. When push comes to shove, this New Orleans team has one of the best defensive lines that the Chiefs have faced so far this season. They need to come up with a different plan to help their tackles out on these types of plays. They did a little of it, by running the ball off-tackle against those formations. They need to come up with a better strategy when they drop back to pass against those looks.