Saints Hold On to Go 2-0 for First Time : Interconference: Hebert passes for two touchdowns in running up 17-0 halftime lead.

For the New Orleans Saints, the mirror was cracked, but not broken. That was good enough for a little team history.

In a game in which the first and second halves were nearly mirror images, the Saints ran up a 17-0 lead on Bobby Hebert’s two touchdown passes, then held on to beat Kansas City, 17-10, Sunday as the clock ran out with the ball in the Chiefs’ possession on the New Orleans’ 10-yard line.

“I knew it would happen,” Saint Coach Jim Mora said. “I knew they’d come back when we had our big lead, and they came back. But it’s a ‘W’ against a good team on the road, and we’ll take it.”

The Saints, a team that never had a winning season or made the playoffs before Mora took over in 1987, are 2-0 for the first time in their 25-year history.

New Orleans held the ball for nearly 24 of the 30 minutes of the first half and had 13 first downs to one for the Chiefs. Hebert completed 14 of his first 16 passes and connected on a 13-yard touchdown pass to Eric Martin and a 45-yarder to Quinn Early for the second score. Hebert finished with 19 completions in 27 attempts for 211 yards.

“We came in at halftime and looked around and said to each other, ‘We’re not playing like we’re capable of playing,’ ” Chief linebacker Derrick Thomas said. “ ‘Let’s go out and change that,’ and that’s what we did.”

Almost.

The Chiefs dominated the second half as the Saints did the first. The difference was two big defensive plays--interceptions by Reggie Jones and Sam Mills--that stopped two Kansas City threats. It was the first interception for Jones, a fifth-round draft pick this year, and Mills, a six-year Pro Bowl player.

“It was a long time coming. I guess you could say it couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Mills, who also stuffed Christian Okoye on third and one at the Saint five at the end of an 8-minute 58-second drive to start the second half. That forced the Chiefs to settle for Nick Lowery’s 23-yard field goal that made the score 17-3.

As it turned out, Mills’ play was crucial. A touchdown there and Kansas City would have needed only a field goal later.

The Chiefs pulled to within 17-10 1:08 into the fourth quarter on a seven-yard pass from Steve DeBerg to Jonathan Hayes. DeBerg completed 23 of 42 passes for 212 yards after completing only four of 12 for 33 yards in the first half.

Two plays after Hayes’ touchdown, Neil Smith sacked Hebert, forcing a fumble that Thomas recovered at the Saint 27. But on third down from the 24, Jones dove in front of Robb Thomas and intercepted DeBerg’s pass.

“We misblocked on the play,” DeBerg said. “Somebody came up the middle of the pocket, and the kid made a pretty good play on the ball.”

The final drive started at the Chief 21 with 2:33 left.

DeBerg completed passes to Robb Thomas and Todd McNair underneath but couldn’t get the big pass.

“We were giving them that area,” Mora said. “As long as they didn’t get out of bounds or into the end zone, we were OK.”

The Chiefs never threw into the end zone. On a fourth and one at the New Orleans 15, Thomas made a catch at the 10--in bounds. It was a first down, but time ran out.