Derek Carr led the New Orleans Saints‘ offense down the field for a touchdown on his lone drive, but the backups ultimately squandered a 17-0 advantage to the Kansas City Chiefs, who returned the favor when quarterback Chris Oladokun a dagger interception with less than a minute in the game.
A late field goal off the pick gave New Orleans the 26-24 win in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL preseason.
Offensive spotlight: Justyn Ross is back in the spotlight. The former Clemson star went undrafted in 2022 due to his injury history and missed his rookie season after undergoing foot surgery, but he justified the training camp buzz surrounding him on Sunday. Ross caught two of his five targets, one for a score, in his first NFL game action. It wasn't a flashy performance, but it was a reminder of everything Ross proved capable of as one of the best receivers in college football back in 2018 and 2019.
Defensive spotlight: Although he played only 13 snaps, linebacker Leo Chenal recorded two run stops and allowed two receiving yards on two targets into his coverage. It was a solid day for the second-year man in all facets, and he finished initial reviews as the Chiefs' highest-graded defender.
Rookie spotlight: Sixth-rounder A.T. Perry flashed for the Saints as the primary target for both Derek Carr and Jameis Winston. He hauled in all six of his targets — including a contested touchdown grab where he stretched out to cross the goal line — for 70 yards. He is on track to earn an 85.0-plus receiving grade for the game, pending reviews.
Offensive line spotlight: Trevor Penning didn't fare all that well in his minimal action as a rookie last season, but his 23 snaps in the first quarter in this contest put his development on full display. He didn't allow any pressure and wasn't downgraded once on his 11 run-blocking snaps, pending reviews.
Box Score
Passing
Kansas City Chiefs |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Shane Buechele | 13.2 | 11 / 18 | 155 | 8.6 | 2 | 1 |
| Blaine Gabbert | 6.36 | 4 / 8 | 59 | 7.4 | 1 | 0 |
| Chris Oladokun | 4.08 | 5 / 12 | 52 | 4.3 | 0 | 1 |
| Patrick Mahomes | 1.1 | 2 / 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | 0 |
New Orleans Saints |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Jameis Winston | 9.08 | 11 / 13 | 92 | 7.1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jake Haener | 8 | 10 / 17 | 105 | 6.2 | 1 | 1 |
| Derek Carr | 6.8 | 6 / 8 | 70 | 8.8 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing
Kansas City Chiefs |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | 4.2 | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 0 | 4 |
| Chris Oladokun | 4.08 | 2 | 30 | 15 | 0 | 30 |
| Jerrion Ealy | 3.3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| La'Mical Perine | 2.2 | 5 | 22 | 4.4 | 0 | 11 |
| Deneric Prince | 1.4 | 4 | 14 | 3.5 | 0 | 5 |
| Patrick Mahomes | 1.1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Blake Bell | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
New Orleans Saints |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Ellis Merriweather | 12.1 | 9 | 24 | 2.7 | 0 | 5 |
| Jameis Winston | 9.08 | 2 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Jake Haener | 8 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Alvin Kamara | 5.5 | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 0 | 12 |
| Jamaal Williams | 2.8 | 9 | 28 | 3.1 | 0 | 8 |
| Kendre Miller | 1.6 | 4 | 5 | 1.2 | 0 | 2 |
Receiving
Kansas City Chiefs |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| Richie James | 12.4 | 3 | 2 | 44 | 14.7 | 1 |
| Nikko Remigio | 11.1 | 6 | 4 | 71 | 11.8 | 0 |
| Justyn Ross | 10.9 | 5 | 2 | 29 | 5.8 | 1 |
| Kekoa Crawford | 10.7 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 9 | 1 |
| Cornell Powell | 7.2 | 3 | 3 | 42 | 14 | 0 |
| Rashee Rice | 6 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 7.5 | 0 |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | 4.2 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 |
| Jerrion Ealy | 3.3 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 2.5 | 0 |
| La'Mical Perine | 2.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Noah Gray | 2.1 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 |
| Ihmir Smith-Marsette | 1.2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Kendall Blanton | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Bushman | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ty Fryfogle | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
New Orleans Saints |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| A.T. Perry | 19 | 6 | 6 | 70 | 11.7 | 1 |
| Ellis Merriweather | 12.1 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 5.7 | 1 |
| Keith Kirkwood | 7.4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Bryan Edwards | 6.7 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 7.4 | 0 |
| Alvin Kamara O | 5.5 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 0 |
| Kawaan Baker | 5 | 4 | 2 | 30 | 7.5 | 0 |
| Juwan Johnson | 4.9 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 0 |
| Shaquan Davis | 4 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 10 | 0 |
| Michael Thomas | 2.6 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 8 | 0 |
| Jimmy Graham | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Kendre Miller | 1.6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jontre Kirklin | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Lynn Bowden Jr. | 1.3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Taysom Hill | 1.2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Jake Bargas | 1.2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| James Washington | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Olave | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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