OT loss to K.C. leaves Saints winless, worried

NEW ORLEANS - Remember the hard-luck Saints of old - that mistake-prone franchise that routinely crumbled in crunch time?

In their first three games since coach Sean Payton was suspended in the NFL's bounty probe, the Saints have started to resemble that franchise again, and even Drew Brees has been helpless to do anything about it.

The Saints failed to protect an 18-point third-quarter lead, and Kansas City's Ryan Succop kicked his club-record sixth field goal, a 31-yarder, to lift the previously winless Chiefs to a 27-24 overtime victory over New Orleans on Sunday.

The Saints have lost twice at the Superdome, where they were unbeaten a season ago, and which will host the Super Bowl next February.

But New Orleans now looks like a long shot to play for a championship after opening with losses to three 1-2 teams.

"We are far from talking about the Super Bowl right now," Brees said. "What we need to focus on is getting one win."

Next week, the reeling Saints (0-3) travel to Green Bay.

The Chiefs (1-2) meanwhile, went home feeling a lot better about not only getting their first victory, but the resolve they showed to get it.

"The best part is our guys never gave up," said Succop, 6-for-6 on kicks ranging from 25 to 45 yards. "We kept fighting."

After 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, the Chiefs thwarted a Saints scoring chance when Stanford Routt intercepted Brees' underthrown 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 three TDs, never had another completion after that, and the Saints also never got another first down.

Charles, who finished with 233 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving, scored the only touchdown the Chiefs needed. The rest of the scoring came on field goals, as well as a safety on Justin Houston's third sack of the game.

Weary of answering questions about the effects of the bounty scandal, the Saints were once again 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."

Instead, the Chiefs found a way after their safety got them the ball, down by 3, with 5:33 to go. 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 tying 43-yard kick with three seconds left.