When the New Orleans Saints score 46 points, it's usually pretty safe to say that they won and that star running back Alvin Kamara had a good game. However, the opposite happened on Sunday as they lost to the San Francisco 49ers with 48-46 being the final score with Kamara having his worst game of the season.
The third-year back finished with 13 carries for 25 yards and four catches for 18 yards and no touchdowns. Now, sometimes, especially in today's pass-happy NFL, teams abandon the run. That's just part of the game flow from time to time. But, when you have someone as talented as Kamara in the backfield, you should utilize him more often.
Obviously, Kamara becomes easy to ignore when he's struggling as he did on Sunday and Drew Brees is throwing for five touchdowns. However, as teams like the 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens have shown, an effective rushing attack can be dangerous.
And obviously you can't blame the offense for the Saints' loss on Sunday. Nevertheless, looking at it past a one-game trend, New Orleans needs to work on getting Kamara going.
Statistically, Kamara's 2019 season has been a little bit of a letdown. Yardage-wise, the 5'10”, 215-pound running back is set to put up numbers close to his two previous Pro Bowl seasons. The main difference being he has only found the end zone twice this season, something he did an incredible 18 times last season.
Kamara has dealt with knee and ankle injuries this season, so perhaps he isn't fully healthy. It's also worth noting that backup Latavious Murray has played well in Kamara's stead but again, the Saints' offense works well when Kamara gets going.
The former third-round pick has only carried the ball more than 15 times just three times this season. But, in those three games, the Saints are 3-0. Regardless, Saints fans know that part of what makes Kamara such an effective weapon is his pass-catching ability.
The running back has caught more than five balls in seven games this season and is third among NFL running backs in terms of catches but without him being effective on the ground as well, Kamara becomes much more one dimensional.
In the Saints' loss on Sunday, Kamara, although having nearly double the carries as Murray, was outgained 69-25. And while it's not likely he will go for 1.9 yards per carry very often, his struggles to get it going on the ground can be hard to watch.
You could blame it on the 49ers having a defense that ranks second in the NFL in yards per game, but at the same time, San Francisco ranks just 22nd in the league in rushing defense — an opportunity that New Orleans failed to take advantage of.
Two of the New Orleans' three next opponents (Tennessee and Indianapolis) rank in the top 10 in NFL rush defense so it may be hard to get Kamara going in those games. But, as the Saints showed this week, the offense is capable of scoring on anyone and two touchdowns on the season for one of the NFL's most versatile offensive weapons is simply unacceptable.
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