Once it became clear Monday night that the New Orleans Saints were running the "All Alvin Kamara Offense," the Seattle Seahawks tried to throw the kitchen sink at the star running back.
"Dang, y'all are doubling me? Come on, let me get some space," Kamara said at one point late in Monday night's 13-10 win.
The Seahawks tried to take out Kamara. They failed.
The star running back generated a season-high 179 scrimmage yards -- 20 carries for 51 rush yards; 10 receptions for 128 yards, one receiving TD. It marked Kamara's fourth consecutive game with 100-plus scrimmage yards. His 134.8 scrimmage YPG since Week 3 is second-most in the NFL.
"A.K. is one of the most dominant players in this league," quarterback Jameis Winston said, . "It's always exciting when you put the ball in his hands and watch the things he does."
It's a good thing for Winston that Kamara is a field-tilting force because the QB didn't have many other options. Outside of Kamara's 10 catches on 11 targets, Winston completed just nine other passes on 24 attempts for 94 yards.
Kamara also became the sixth RB in the Super Bowl era to have at least five career games with 10 or more receptions.
"Jameis was smart enough to keep dumping it to him," Saints head coach Sean Payton said.
Even when Seattle tried to double Kamara, it wasn't always effective. And perhaps the biggest play of the game came on a third-and-10 from the Seattle 41-yard line with 5:26 left. Payton called a handoff.
"The idea was maybe to get seven yards to get into field goal range," Payton said. "That honestly was what I was thinking."
Instead, Kamara got 12 yards, a first down, and the Saints churned more time off the clock to kick the eventual game-winning field goal.
Kamara also reached a milestone on Monday night, breaching the 3,000-plus yard rushing and 3,000-plus yard receiving plateaus in his 66th career game. It's the fewest games needed to hit the milestone, the previous was 49ers great Roger Craig (70 games).
It's great fun to watch Kamara dominate opponents, leaving defenders grasping helplessly at air. But it's not a sustainable offense if the Saints have designs on playing into January. With the trade deadline a week away, the Saints need to add a weapon or two. Otherwise, Winston and Co. will continue to struggle to move the ball regardless of Kamara's magic.
