NEW ORLEANS — Remember the hard-luck Saints of old - that mistake-prone franchise that routinely crumbled in crunch time?
They’re back.
The Saints, playing their third regular-season game without Coach Sean Payton, who was suspended for the season ln the NFL’s bounty probe, were unable to protect an 18-point third-quarter lead, falling to the previously winless Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in overtime.
Kansas City’s Ryan Succop won the game with his club-record sixth field goal, handing the Saints their second loss at the Superdome, where they were unbeaten a season ago.
The Superdome is scheduled to host the Super Bowl next February, but Saints quarterback Drew Brees said the Saints (0-3) need to concentrate on next week’s game at Green Bay, nothing more.
“We are far from talking about the Super Bowl right now,” Brees said. “What we need to focus on is getting one win.”
The Chiefs (1-2) went home feeling a lot better about their situation after getting hammered by a combined 34 points in their first two games.
“The best part is our guys never gave up,” said Succop, who was 6 for 6 on kicks ranging from 25 to 45 yards, including the 31-yard game winner. “We kept fighting, it was a huge team win and I’m just really excited to have had a part in it.”
Jamaal Charles’ 91-yard touchdown run - the longest running play in Chiefs history, and the longest given up by the Saints - started Kansas City’s comeback after the Chiefs trailed 24-6 midway in the third quarter.
Then, the Chiefs thwarted a Saints scoring chance when Stanford Routt intercepted Brees’ under thrown pass for Devery Henderson near the Kansas City goal line late in the third quarter. Brees, who was 20 of 36 for 240 yards and 3 TDs - ended the game with six consecutive incompletions as the Saints failed to get another first down.
Charles, who finished with 233 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving, scored the Chiefs’ only touchdown. The rest of the scoring came on field goals, as well as a safety on Justin Houston’s third sack of the game.
“This team needed a win, and a win like that really helped out in particular,” Chiefs Coach Romeo Crennel said. “There were a lot of doubts about what we could do and they showed a lot of character.”
The Saints were in no mood to discuss whether things might have been different if Payton were still around.
“All I can say is Sean Payton is a great football coach,” Brees said. “But he’s not here, so the rest of us have to find a way.”
The Chiefs sacked Brees for a safety to pull within 24-21 with 5:33 to go.
Kansas City received a free kick, and Matt Cassel’s spinning scramble and 11-yard pass across the field to Jon Baldwin on third-and-10 extended the drive, which also included Cassel’s completion to Dwayne Bowe on fourth-and-5 before Succop’s 43-yard game-tying kick with 3 seconds left.
New Orleans was briefly ruled the winner on the field in overtime when running back Shaun Draughn lost the ball stretching for a first down and New Orleans safety Roman Harper picked up the ball and ran to the end zone.
The fumble was overturned on video review, but the spot came up a half-yard short of a first down. Charles converted a fourth-down run to extend the winning drive.
“We knew coming in that we could run against this defense,” Charles said. “It was an opportunity we had to take advantage of.”
Sports, Pages 16 on 09/24/2012