NEW ORLEANS – Drew Brees found his rhythm a little too late on his return Sunday from 11 broken ribs and a lung leak.
Brees started with a 0-for-6 passing with an interception in the 32-29 loss of New Orleans Saints against the Kansas City Chiefs. It was the first time in Brees’ 20-year career that he started a match 0-for-5 or worse, according to research from ESPN Stats & Information research.
Brees came back with some great throws, including a 51-meter deep ball to Emmanuel Sanders, an impressive escape from the pressure for a 24-meter touchdown pass to Latavius Murray and fourth quarter TD passes to Alvin Kamara and Lil’Jordan Humphrey.
But he was too sporadic in the end – and the Saints were too exhausted at the wide receiver when they lost their second game in a row, dropping to 10-4 in the season.
Brees – who missed the previous four games due to his injuries – finished with 15 of 34 passes for 234 yards and fell short in the marquee quarterback game against Patrick Mahomes. His 44.4% completion rate was the third lowest of his career. The Saints also finished 1-of-11 on third downs.
It didn’t help that the Saints are so exhausted with a wide receiver. Michael Thomas and Deonte Harris were placed on the injured reserve on Saturday and Tre’Quan Smith left Sunday’s game early with an ankle injury.
The Saints defense made a valiant attempt against Mahomes and the Chiefs’ attack, but eventually ran out of gas, with Kansas City taking 92 offensive plays and holding the ball for 41 minutes and 14 seconds.
Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan was also sent off late in the game as he connected with a punch to Chiefs Andrew Wylie’s offensive tackle.
Repeats showed that Wylie held Jordan’s jersey by the collar and wouldn’t let go. Jordan tried to push him away before he delivered the blow; he tried in vain to explain this to officials.
Mahomes finished 26 of 47 passes (55.3%) for 254 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. But he did lose a fumble on a bag in the fourth quarter. The Saints also scored a safety by forcing a fumble on a kick return just before half time.
The saints will have to bounce back quickly in a short week; they receive the Minnesota Vikings in just five days, on Christmas Day.