It took one drive longer than it should have, but Saints running back Alvin Kamara tied an epic NFL record. Sadly, he could have easily broken it.
In a history of the National Football League that goes back more than 100 years, only one player had ever scored six rushing touchdowns in a single game — Ernie Nevers of the Chicago Cardinals against the Chicago Bears on November 28, 1929. Dub Jones of the Cleveland Browns also scored six total touchdowns for the Cleveland Browns in 1951, and Gale Sayers did it for the Bears in 1965, but until Christmas Day, 2020, no other player had amassed six rushing touchdowns in a single game.
Then, Saints running back Alvin Kamara hit the field at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome against the Vikings’ stacked boxes, and added his name to history. On 22 carries, Kamara gained 155 yards and scored six touchdowns on the ground, establishing a modern NFL record that might never be broken — after all, it was never broken in the league’s previously run-heavier eras, and Kamara had just 10 rushing touchdowns on the season before this game.
But with Drew Brees still feeling the effects of multiple fractured ribs, and the Saints trying to wrap up the NFC South, it was going to be on Kamara to get it done, which he certainly did. He scored three touchdowns in the first half, and three more in the second in a 52-33 win.
Actually, had the Saints’ offense not been so efficient in getting downfield, Kamara may have missed the mark. With 4:03 left in the game and the ball at the Minnesota one-yard line, head coach Sean Payton put backup quarterback/running back/tight end Taysom Hill in the game, and a one-yard Hill touchdown run was the result.
Not to denigrate Hill’s efforts, but what the heck was Payton thinking here? Kamara had been blasting through Minnesota’s stacked boxes all day, he could have set a record that might never be broken, and this is what happens. It will be interesting to see how Payton explains himself in the post-game press conference. Unless Kamara was injured or worn out from all those previous touchdowns, that was a weird call.
But there one one more shot for Kamara with 1:55 left on the next drive, and this time, Payton made the smart choice. Bummer that Kamara doesn’t have the record all by himself with seven rushing touchdowns; that would be one of the most epic feats in sports history.
As for the Vikings, who were essentially eliminated from postseason consideration, this was the most points the franchise had allowed since the 56 they allowed to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1963. Can’t imagine head coach Mike Zimmer is pleased about that.
