Alvin Kamara’s historic game keeps Saints in running for bye
Alvin Kamara gave the New Orleans Saints an impressive Christmas gift.
New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara is no stranger to busting out large runs and scoring points for an explosive offense. Christmas Day and a change of cleats seemed to take him to another level against the Vikings to kick off Week 16.
Not only did six touchdowns and a victory elevate the Saints to a 52-33 victory and another chance at a bye, but Kamara’s role as a grinch effectively ended any hope of the Vikings playing football beyond Week 17.
Yes, you read that correctly — six rushing touchdowns. Because of that, Kamara has allowed the final slot to essentially be a race between the Arizona Cardinals and the Chicago Bears. With his breakout performance, Kamara became the fourth player in NFL history to have six total touchdowns in a game and the first since Gale Sayers in 1965.
In addition, New Orleans is still in the running for the top seed currently occupied by the Green Bay Packers, who own the tiebreaker due to an early-season victory over the Saints on Sunday Night Football.
Alvin Kamara carried the Saints to stay in the mix atop the NFC playoff race.
There may be time to celebrate with eggnog in the locker room with social distancing protocol, but the celebration must be short-lived. Given how playoff positioning this year tends to favor the top seed in the conference, New Orleans cannot afford to miss a beat.
Additionally, with Tampa Bay likely to make the field themselves with a quarterback known for postseason success, Kamara and his fellow members in the Big Easy cannot be parading down Bourbon Street just yet. Last but not least, after three seasons of playoff disappointment, would it not be a perfect gift to avoid a fourth consecutive exit of a similar fashion?
Nevertheless, this victory is one that New Orleans will certainly savor due to what took place in last year’s playoffs in large part thanks to Kyle Rudolph’s touchdown eliminating the Big Easy from the postseason for the second time in three seasons, the other was thanks to a blown call against Los Angeles.
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The Saints have to be proud of their performance as should their running back with his festive cleats. But only time can tell if his production was all for naught or the spark of a holly jolly ride through the postseason.