Midway through the second quarter of the Saints' 31-19 win against the Jets, there it was, proof: Rookie phenom Alvin Kamara was back and appeared no worse for wear after suffering a scary concussion on the first drive of the Saintsโ loss to Atlanta on Dec. 7.
Kamara leaked out of the Saints backfield with purpose, gave a wiggle of his shoulders and zoomed past an overmatched Darron Lee, leaving him in his dust on a 10-yard touchdown catch.
A celebration was in order.
Kamara went to the sideline and tore open a white Airheads wrapper โ mystery flavor.
โShoutout to Airhead,โ said Kamara, who has already made his affinity for the taffy candy known on social media. โAfter every touchdown weโre going to eat some Airheads.โ
The Saints, needing a strong showing Sunday as they fight to secure their place in the postseason, struggled to get past the New York Jets bef…
The Saints were relieved to see their precious and precocious rookie back in the lineup making the type of plays that have made him a strong candidate for the NFLโs offensive rookie of the year award.
It was not his most explosive game against a surprisingly stingy Jets defense, but Kamara still put together a solid day overall, carrying the ball 12 times for 44 yards while hauling in six catches for 45 yards and a score.
His touchdown came on an option route, where he picked which direction to attack based on the coverage the Jets were playing.
Lee, a linebacker, had no shot of keeping up with Kamara once he made his break.
โI read the coverage and Drew (Brees) threw a nice ball,โ Kamara said. โWe got the look we wanted. โฆ It felt great to get the touchdown.โ
It appeared the Saints were working Kamara back into the mix slowly, getting the ball in his hands just three times in the first quarter.
Saints coach Sean Payton said the light workload early had nothing to do with Kamaraโs injury last week, which Kamara backed up.
โRegularly scheduled programming,โ Kamara said.
It wasnโt a flawless return to the field.
Both Mark Ingram and Saints coachย Sean Paytonย thought the running back scored on the 54-yard screen that referees ruled Ingram out of bounds a…
He did miss out on perhaps his best opportunity to swing the momentum in the Saints' favor in the third quarter when he got behind the Jets secondary on a deep route down the sideline.
Brees placed the ball on target just beyond the fingertips of a fully extended Morris Claiborne, but Kamara could not make the play.
Whether Claiborneโs hands momentarily shielded the ball from Kamaraโs eyes or not, the pass thunked off Kamaraโs chest and fell harmlessly to the turf.
New Orleans brought Thomas Morstead out to punt from his own 13, when a completed catch wouldโve given them a first down near midfield.
โIโve got to come down with it, period,โ Kamara said.
Teammate Mark Ingram, who conducted his postgame interview in tandem with Kamara, added, "Heโll make that catch next week.โ
Brandon Coleman had never fumbled in the NFL before Sunday's game.ย