by Josh Looney

PRE-GAME, 10:25 AM
All apologies for the tardy glog start today as I’m dragging a bit this morning. I know how the people of the internet-world crave their Chiefs blog each and every Sunday at a precise start time. Please field all complaint calls to Lance Brown at Arrowhead Stadium…it’s his fault, he runs kcchiefs.com and created the internet alongside Al Gore in 1989.

PRE-GAME, 10:35 AM
The Saints have marched into Arrowhead Stadium…literally. One of the missing soldiers, however, is electric RB/KR/PR/Heisman Trophy Winner/Kim Kardashian Loving/YouTube Phenom/Five-Dollar Footlong Eating Reggie Bush. Mr. Everything is still nursing a sore knee today and RB Deuce McAllister is expected to carry the majority of the Saints rushing load this afternoon.

PRE-GAME, 10:40 AM
Inactives…
CHIEFS
23 Patrick Surtain
24 Brandon Flowers
45 Michael Merritt
55 Pat Thomas
56 Derrick Johnson
71 Andrew Carnahan
73 Adrian Jones
91 Tamba Hali

SAINTS
3 Joey Harrington is 3rd QB
25 Reggie Bush
31 Aaron Glenn
35 David Pittman
44 Mike Karney
74 Jermon Bushrod
76 Jonathan Goodwin
81 David Patten

PRE-GAME, 11:15 AM
“Another One Bites the Dust,” that classic Queen song is playing at Arrowhead as I type and it couldn’t explain the Chiefs injury woes any better. Last weekend S Jon McGraw played every secondary position (SS/FS/CB/Nickel) and G Brian Waters was eerily close to entering the game on the other side of the football should a goal line defense be needed.

PRE-GAME, 11:40 AM
The players have headed into the locker room and kickoff is just around the corner as the Saints have come marching in. I’m sure that phrase has never been coined before…somebody call the patent office.

1st Q, 15:00, KC 0 NO 0
Many questions surround the Chiefs as we get ready to kickoff, one of the most asked being how the Chiefs will utilize RB Larry Johnson in their new-look offensive approach with QB Tyler Thigpen.

1st Q, 13:10, KC 0 NO 0
New Orleans comes out and tries to run it right at the Chiefs rather than opting for their league-leading passing attack. The result is a Saints three-and-out. KC’s defense sets the bar and the Chiefs will start their first offensive possession at their own 20.

1st Q, 12:26, KC 0 NO 0
Chan Gailey does it again! The Chiefs start the game in the pistol formation with Thigpen in shotgun and RB Larry Johnson placed directly behind him. As the Saints D adjusts to the fresh look, KC is approaching mid-field.

1st Q, 12:01, KC 0 NO 0
Chan Gailey has really impressed me this season. He adapts something different each week and has successfully transitioned the Chiefs offense into something almost entirely different from the Croyle/Huard approach during training camp. The best of the best adjust to what works best for their personnel and Gailey is a true pro at this. Seriously, has the pistol set ever been run in a pro game? I like it!

1st Q, 11:45, KC 0 NO 0
The Chiefs got a free play and I’m shocked that I’m the only one who has seemed to notice this. Saints head man Sean Payton challenged a ruling at 12:26, it was upheld. The Chiefs then ran a running play to Johnson which was essentially untimed. The clock didn’t start ticking again until the snap on the very next offensive play after the Johnson run. Does it really matter? No. But I still can’t believe the officials didn’t notice this…maybe they were memorized by the Gailey pistol formation.

Okay, enough of the rant…KC ends up punting after stalling at mid-field.

1st Q, 10:23, KC 0 NO 0
The Chiefs lead the league in takeaways and they just added another to their total as QB Drew Brees is picked by S Jarrad Page on a throw I know he wished he had back. His target was never open on the play, and Page made him pay. KC with an opportunity to turn a turnover into points at the NO 47.

1st Q, 6:51, KC 0 NO 0
MAN CRUSH ALERT: I love you Chan Gailey. On fourth-and-one from the NO 22, the Chiefs line in a “Wildcat” formation and direct snap to LJ for the first down up the gut. Great call!

1st Q, 5:31, KC 7 NO 0
Thigpen capitalizes off the turnover with a jump-ball TD to WR Dwayne Bowe from six yards out. TE Tony Gonzalez, who came limping off the field just two plays prior seems to be walking it off on the sideline.

9 plays, 47 yards, 4:51

1st Q, 5:12, KC 7 NO 0
New Orleans answers with a big return by WR Courtney Roby to the KC 44. Special teams returns have haunted the Chiefs on a number of occasions this season. This one looked like it was attributed to someone not staying in their lane.

1st Q, 0:29, KC 7 NO 3
Stick to your own game plan New Orleans! The Saints thwart their own scoring drive by botching a direct snap to RB Deuce McAllister at the KC 18. The error pushed them all the way back to the KC 30 and the distance was too much to overcome as New Orleans settled for a 30-yard K Garrett Hartley FG.

9 plays, 32 yards, 5:02

1st Q, 0:00, KC 7 NO 3
More special teams woes as RB Dantrell Savage drops the kickoff return and is corralled at the KC 11. Negative yardage and a three-and-out will set up New Orleans nicely when we begin the 2nd quarter.

2nd Q, 11:23, KC 7 NO 10
Deuce dives in from one-yard out to give the Saints a three-point lead. New Orleans definitely took advantage of the short field and even opened up the playbook a little more with a flea-flicker pass on the series (although it fell incomplete).

7 plays, 43 yards, 3:29

2nd Q, 6:08, KC 7 NO 10
With a new offensive set come mistakes. It looked like LJ blocked to the wrong side, allowing DE Jeff Charleston to come free on Thigpen’s backside. Thigpen came back just two plays later, however, and hit rookie WR Will Franklin on a sky-high floater that covered 42 yards to the NO 14…giving the Chiefs new life.

2nd Q, 4:22, KC 14 NO 10
There really is a new energy here at Arrowhead since the Chiefs switched to the wide-open offensive approach, but it’s the old fashioned power game that allows LJ to score from one-yard out.

Herm Edwards made one of the funniest challenges this season as he baited the official with a few fakes before throwing the red challenge flag. The official smiled and Herm gave him a jab on the arm when he walked over to the booth to review the play that would be overturned to a one-yard TD for LJ.

2nd Q, 4:22, KC 7 NO 10
Wow…that’s how shocked I am that the call was not overturned…I had the last entry all set and posted before the call came back as being upheld. Take those seven back off the board and try again.

2nd Q, 3:31, KC 10 NO 10
If you want to find a way to suck the life out of a crowd, don’t score on first-and-goal from the one. A lukewarm applause from Chiefs fans after KC settled for a 22-yard FG by K Connor Barth.

14 plays, 78 yards, 7:52

2nd Q, 2:00, KC 10 NO 10
Brees is putting on a show as to why the Saints offense is the top ranked in the league. He’s been nearly flawless since the earlier INT and now has the Saints primed for another score before the half is out with a first-and-ten from the KC 41.

2nd Q, 0:50, KC 10 NO 10
Do you think the Chiefs are the first team in NFL history to have two NCAA Division II players starting on opposite corners? CB Maurice Leggett (Valdosta State) and CB Brandon Carr (Grand Valley State). Not only are they small school guys, they are rookies none-the –less.

2nd Q, 0:02, KC 10 NO 10
TE Jeremy Shockey is tackled on third down at the KC 5, leaving the Saints with a decision to make on fourth-and-five.

2nd Q, 0:00, KC 10 NO 13
New Orleans stays traditional and takes a three-point lead into the half with a 23-yard Hartley FG.

12 plays, 62 yards, 3:31

HALFTIME: The guy doing the kicking contest was wearing a Colquitt jersey. The only thing they have in common was the possibility of the contestant injuring his groin. A sigh of relief was heard throughout Arrowhead when this guy finished his three kicks without injury.

Ah, the second-half of our halftime spectacular is one of my annual favorites…hundreds of Jazzercise queens boogieing down to the smooth jams of …WAIT…did I hear JAZZ? Grigs, is that you?

3rd Q, 14:05, KC 10 NO 13
CB Jason David makes a fantastic defensive play on third down to force a Chiefs three-and-out. He then decided to celebrate his pass breakup by pretending to slick his hair back with a comb. That worst part is that it looked pre-meditated.

3rd Q, 14:01, KC 10 NO 13
We’re witnessing a rarity here at Arrowhead today as sure-footed P Dustin Colquitt is struggling a bit with distance on his punts. His numbers were a bit down in San Diego last weekend as well, leading me to wonder if his left groin is still bothering him a bit? Saints with a big possession on the NO 48.

3rd Q, 13:53, KC 10 NO 20
Just like that it’s a two-score lead for the Saints as CB Ricardo Colclough bites on a pump-and-go to WR Lance Moore for a 47-yard TD down the right sideline.

2 plays, 52 yards, 0:12

3rd Q, 10:44, KC 10 NO 20
Battling a recurring issued for the Chiefs offense of late, Thigpen is going to the air to cure KC of a third-quarter lull. He converts a huge third down to WR Mark Bradley for 31 yards to the NO 29. Thigpen was under pressure and made a less than desirable pass…had he hit Bradley in stride it would have been a TD. Either way KC looks primed to answer with a much needed score.

3rd Q, 8:11, KC 10 NO 20
Back-and-forth, back-and-forth…the Chiefs looked to miss out on a major opportunity when FB Mike Cox was called for holding on first down inside the five. But an illegal contact call and a 10-yard run from LJ has KC back inside the five with another first down.

3rd Q, 7:41, KC 13 NO 20
Bad news gets worse for the Chiefs as TE Tony Gonzalez is taken into the locker room with an apparent foot injury, while the KC offense sputters and settles for their second FG inside the five-yard line today. It’s not hard to see that the Chiefs could easily be leading this ballgame with Red Zone conversions.

13 plays, 72 yards, 6:12

3rd Q, 3:36, KC 13 NO 20
Brees has noticed the Chiefs secondary playing off receivers a bit and is picking apart the KC defense on short slants to the KC Red Zone. Each time KC score, it seems that Brees and Co. have an answer.

3rd Q, 3:15, KC 13 NO 27
One missed tackle, two missed tackles, three missed tackles, TD. RB Pierre Thomas punches one in from a yard out after thundering his way through KC arm tackles the play before.

10 plays, 76 yards, 4:26

3rd Q, 0:00, KC 13 NO 27
An interesting decision for Herm as we enter the fourth quarter; KC is facing a fourth-and-four from the NO 38. If you punt, you’ve got to bank on getting two scores this quarter when you are already nearing the end zone, but if you go and don’t make it you are giving a short field to a team that is clicking on all cylinders offensively.

4th Q, 14:21, KC 13 NO 27
Herm decides to go for it and Thigpen runs a draw for the first down. Even more impressive, Thigpen beat about four Saints defenders in a footrace for 32 yards inside the five. Now…is the third time the charm for the Chiefs inside the five?

4th Q, 13:54, KC 20 NO 27
Yes…the third time is the charm and it’s the second TD of the day for D. Bowe. Bowe picks a good time for his first career two-TD game and KC is right back in this one.

9 plays, 70 yards, 4:21

4th Q, 12:45, KC 20 NO 27
It’s a three-and-out and this place is rocking. Brees seemingly had 30 seconds to scramble around and find a receiver on third down, but somehow the KC secondary keeps coverage and the Chiefs will try to tie this thing up starting on their own 27.

4th Q, 11:23, KC 20 NO 27
Gailey inserts RB Jamaal Charles in the game and gives him a draw play on third-and-10 …you could hear the crowd beginning to boo the play call, but those boos quickly turned into excitement when Charles broke through two tacklers in the backfield and raced his way for a first down.

4th Q, 9:55, KC 20 NO 27
Faced with another tough decision on fourth-and-three from the NO 40, Edwards decides to punt..giving the Saints possession on their own 12. You can argue either side on the decision to punt fairly well…it’s obvious that Edwards believes his offense can’t get a stop.

4th Q, 7:55, KC 20 NO 27
Right now Edwards’ decision to punt is evened out as New Orleans now has the football at the KC 40. The Chiefs D desperately needs a stop.

4th Q, 5:42, KC 20 NO 27
New Orleans is methodically marching a long, ball-controlled drive right through the Chiefs defense at precisely the wrong time. It’s time for a sense of urgency as the Saints are nearing FG range at the KC 38.

4th Q, 3:28, KC 20 NO 30
The KC defense finally comes up with a stop, but it might be too little, too late. Hartney boots through a 35-yard FG after a very clutch scoring drive. It’s hurry-up time for the Chiefs…they’ll also likely need the lucky bounce of a football on an onside kick to have a chance at winning or tying this one.

12 plays, 71 yards, 6:27

4th Q, 2:08, KC 20 NO 30
Thigpen tries to make a play scrambling off his back foot on a fourth down, but is picked at the NO 45. Game…Set…Match.

4th Q, 2:00, KC 20 NO 30
Brees finds Lance Moore for a first down, then commands the offense from the victory formation to close out the game.

NEW ORLEANS 30, KANSAS CITY 20 - FINAL