New Orleans Saints: Players that must thrive to beat Los Angeles Rams

3. Alvin Kamara

I typically try to pick players that are not dreadfully obvious, you know, the star quarterback, running back or wide receiver. More times than not, those are the players that make the team good, so of course, you need them to play well to win the game.

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However, in this case, the Saints are good enough to win without Alvin Kamara having a great game. And it is not just that Kamara needs to have a good game overall, no, he needs to have a good game running the football.

He is an explosive runner and can make people miss but has seen himself become more of a factor in the passing game than the running game. In fact, if you look at the two games with the Los Angeles Rams last season, it becomes evident what we are getting at.

In the regular-season win over the Rams, Kamara carried the ball 19 times for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Altogether, the Saints had 141 rushing yards on the day with Kamara’s two touchdowns.

However, in the team’s loss to the Rams (albeit they shouldn’t have lost), Kamara only carried the ball eight times for 15 yards. In that game, the Saints had 48 rushing yards with no touchdowns.

He was still a factor in the passing game (11 receptions, 96 yards) but that is not what the Saints need to beat the Rams.

To beat the Rams, you need to keep that offense off the field for as long as possible to keep them from getting into a groove. That means running the ball, draining the clock and owning the possession, it may be boring but it is pivotal.

Kamara not rushing great was not the reason that the Saints lost, but it is a big part of the reason why the Saints only scored 10 points after the first quarter.