Offensive line keeps Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith upright against Saints

Despite not trailing after the game’s opening minutes and owning a double-digit lead entering the fourth quarter, the Chiefs’ 27-21 triumph over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium never reached a comfort level.

The Chiefs could not assume a victory formation and had to sweat out a final Saints’ possession. With a few more seconds on the clock, quarterback Drew Brees would have had a snap for a Hail Mary attempt.

But he didn’t, and part of that was due to the play of the Chiefs’ offense, specifically an offensive line that capped off a productive day by winning enough battles in the fourth quarter to maintain the edge.

“Basically they’re calling our number in that situation,” Chiefs offensive tackle Eric Fisher said. “We would have liked to have gotten more. We liked to have been able to take a knee. But it was a fun game, an offensive line kind of game.”

The Chiefs expected success. They were matched against the most scored-upon team in the NFL, with the Saints yielding 33.6 points per game entering Sunday.

But New Orleans and Brees score enough — 31 points per game — to turn games into shootouts. And the Chiefs did their part on offense to play that kind of game.

Alex Smith enjoyed his best day of the season from a passer-rating standpoint at 126.0, built on 214 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

It was his second straight strong outing, building on the victory at Oakland the previous week when Smith set a club record for accuracy by completing 86.4 percent.

In both games, Smith had time to throw. He was sacked once against the Raiders, and on Sunday, for the first time since the Chiefs beat Seattle in 2014 — a span of 26 regular-season games — Smith wasn’t sacked. A clean pocket was built by stout offensive line play.

“Just those guys getting better as a group,” Smith said. “Those guys are playing as a unit and communicating well, getting more and more comfortable with what they’re doing. A lot goes into protection. I certainly think the last two weeks have set a tone for us in the run and pass.”

The Chiefs rushed for 112 yards against the Saints, with Spencer Ware bulling for 77.

The line threw the credit back at Smith.

“He helped us a lot, too,” center Mitch Morse said. “He used his feet a lot to day to escape a few sacks. The big thing is, we run the ball. Once you do that it sets up everything else.”

Perhaps not coincidentally, Sunday marked the first time this season the offensive line was the same as the one that lined up as the previous week. Injuries kept rookie guard Parker Ehinger and second-year pro Laurent Duvernay-Tardif out of games early, and the shuffling continued through the open week, which came after the fourth game.

“It definitely helps,” Fisher said. “Once you get a good thing going you usually stick with it .We’ll see if we can keep it going next week.”

This story was originally published October 23, 2016 at 6:50 PM with the headline "Offensive line keeps Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith upright against Saints."