🏈 NFL Christmas Game Review: Saints Destroy Vikings 🏈

                

  

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Minnesota (6-8) at New Orleans (10-4)

New Orleans 52, Minnesota 33              

Wow! Obviously, the Saints wanted to clinch the NFC South division title once and for all, and leave no doubts.              

The Saints rolled over the reeling Vikings on Christmas, making short work of a Minnesota team that, just a couple of weeks ago, were looking like serious playoff contenders. The Vikings went to the playoffs last year with one of the top defenses in the league, and they had appeared tough at points this season, as well. But you would never know it by looking at this game, as the Saints finally looked every bit as explosive as many billed them.              

Yet, the avalanche of points came in an unconventional manner. You might expect Drew Brees to get hot on any given NFL weekend, and light up the boards. Perhaps a wide receiver suddenly breaking out with a ton of catches, several of them turned into touchdowns. Something along those lines.              

Most people would not expect an explosion of rushing yards and touchdowns. Yet, that is exactly what happened.              

Alvin Kamara, the Saints running back, had a banner day. He collected 155 yards on 22 carries, which in and of itself would suggest a banner day, perhaps a career high. 155 yards is a career high for Kamara.              

But what made Kamara’s efforts on this Christmas Day particularly memorable is how many times he reached the end zone. Yes, Kamara managed to tie an NFL record dating back all the way to 1929 – nearly 100 years! - with six rushing touchdowns.              

Minnesota’s defense simply had no answers, and could not stop or even slow Kamara. They were unable to contain him at any point in the game, a fact that is underscored by the fact that he scored at least one touchdown in each quarter. He scored touchdowns in the first minutes of the game, and the last minutes of the game. And he scored a whole bunch in between, too.              

Now was he the only Saint to score a rushing touchdown, as Taysom Hill also got a rushing touchdown for the Saints in the fourth quarter.              

Still, this was Kamara’s show on this day.              

His running helped the Saints win the time of possession battle, holding onto the ball for over 36 minutes. They also produced an impressive 583 yards of total offense, including 36 first downs. All of that helped them to overcome two turnovers to none for Minnesota. Surprisingly, both turnovers came off interceptions by star quarterback Drew Brees.              

The game was still close after three quarters, as the Saints were hanging onto a 31-27 lead, before Kamara scored his fifth touchdown of the night. The Hill touchdown with four minutes to play seemed to put the game out of reach, but the Vikings score a touchdown themselves just before the two minute warning.              

But New Orleans recovered the onside kick. Then, a Brees pass to Adam Trautman for a 41-yard pick-up put the Saints in a position to give Kamara a chance at tying the NFL record for rushing touchdowns. Kamara made good on that, scoring from three yards out to tie a record that had stood alone for the better part of a century.              

Overall, the Saints produced 264 yards of rushing and all seven of the Saints touchdowns, also allowing them to dominate the time of possession. Brees did not have an awful day, completing 19 of 26 passes for 311 yards, but he also had those two interceptions.              

In a losing cause, Kirk Cousins nevertheless had an impressive day statistically, as he completed 27 of 41 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns. His favorite target was Adam Thielen, who picked up 97 yards on eight receptions, with one touchdown. The Vikings rushing game was decent, producing a total of 90 yards, with Dalvin Cook leading the team with 73 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries.              

Still, this game clearly belonged to the Saints, who improved to 11-4 on the year, and finally made it official. They are NFC South champions. They will finish out their regular season next weekend at Carolina. Indeed, they would have to get extremely lucky to overtake the Packers as the top seed in the NFC. However, they have a real chance at the number two seed, although they surely would need to beat the Panthers.              

As for the Vikings, they fall to 6-9 on the season now. This loss officially eliminated them from playoff contention. Minnesota has one last game in Detroit next weekend, in what could determine who finishes the season in last place in the NFC North.              

My pick: Accurate