Kansas City, Mo. ? Like a slick and experienced salesman, Drew Brees knows how to close.

Kansas City, desperate for a victory, scored in the fourth quarter to get within seven points and had the home crowd raising a ruckus. But Brees coolly took the NFL’s top-ranked offense on a 12-play drive that ate six minutes and 27 seconds off the clock and was capped by Garrett Hartley’s 35-yard field goal.

A moment later, Usama Young ended Tyler Thigpen’s string of 161 passes without an interception, and New Orleans preserved a 30-20 victory. It was the Saints’ first victory on the road since last Dec. 12 in Atlanta.

“The one with more than three minutes to go sealed the deal,” Brees said. “Only being up by a touchdown, we realized we needed to put a drive together to put it away.”

The Saints (5-5) were 0-4 on the road before Brees threw for 266 yards and a touchdown. New Orleans sacked Tyler Thigpen four times and made two great defensive stands near the goal line.

“This is our time to make a run,” Brees said. “We’ve said that for a while now.”

Thigpen connected with Dwayne Bowe on two touchdown passes and became the first Chiefs quarterback to throw for a score in four consecutive games since Trent Green in 2005. But it wasn’t enough to keep the Chiefs (1-9) from losing for the 18th time in 19 games.