“He might give you three seconds,” Chase Young warns with a knowing grin, breaking down Patrick Mahomes’ signature scrambling style. The New Orleans Saints defensive end laid out a crystal-clear game plan for Monday Night Football’s showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs – rush, rush, and then rush some more.
Young’s blueprint for rattling the Chiefs’ superstar QB pulls back the curtain on Mahomes’ kryptonite. The Saints’ pass rusher sees those extra seconds of scrambling as chances to strike. “As long as we keep rushing,” Young emphasized during Friday’s press conference, acknowledging Mahomes’ Hall of Fame caliber while mapping out how to exploit his tendency to extend plays.
The strategy mirrors a defensive masterclass from Super Bowl LV, where Tampa Bay’s relentless pressure transformed Mahomes from magician to mere mortal in a crushing 31-9 defeat. That night proved even the most electric quarterback can short-circuit under constant heat.
Young’s studied every frame of Mahomes’ pocket movement. The Saints defender knows his quarry will stretch plays beyond their breaking point, hunting for the big shot downfield. But that extra time is exactly what Young’s counting on – those precious seconds when coverage starts to crack and defenders get their second wind.
The chess match between Young’s pass rush and Mahomes’ improvisational genius sets up Monday’s prime-time battle. While Young praised Mahomes as “obviously Hall of Fame,” his game plan suggests the Saints won’t be star-struck. Speaking of stars potentially losing their shine…
Kelce’s slow start? don’t buy the hype, says former teammate
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce might have just 15 catches for 158 yards and zero touchdowns through four games. But don’t try selling that “decline” narrative to Tyrann Mathieu. The former Chiefs safety, now anchoring New Orleans’ secondary, isn’t buying what the stats are selling.
“To dismiss Travis as being anything other than a valuable weapon, it’s just nonsense,” Mathieu fired back on the Rich Eisen Show this week. The numbers may whisper “slow down,” but Kelce’s 89-yard breakout against the Chargers last week shouted something else entirely.
Young echoed Mathieu’s warning about Kelce: “Travis is that dude man… numbers don’t tell it all.” The Saints defender painted a picture of a savvy veteran who still ghosting through coverages, adding, “If you’re not aware of him, he’ll gas you.”
With the Chiefs’ receiving corps battered – Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice sidelined with injuries – Kelce’s role looks primed to explode. As Mathieu put it, drawing from years of practice-field battles: “He’ll be the last person I fall asleep on Monday night… him and Travis do that like nobody I’ve ever seen do it.” Monday’s prime-time stage gives Kelce his perfect chance to remind everyone why you never count out a future Hall of Famer.