On the latest edition of the countdown to the New Orleans Saints kickoff, we take a look of one of Alvin Kamara's remarkable touchdowns, or as I like to call them, "how did he do that?" plays. There have been a few of these over the course of his eight-year career.
The amount of these plays we've seen recently has dwindled due to age and also a familiarity with the spectacle. For example, Kamara's one handed touchdown reception last year was incredible, but it would have garnered a bigger reaction earlier in his career. When saying it out loud, there's certain special aspects of Kamara's game that we've taken for granted.
We take a look down memory lane to a time when you couldn't take the running back for granted. In his rookie season, our eyes were being opened to the special talent the Saints grabbed in the draft. The Saints have their regular season opener against the Arizona Cardinals in 33 days, so let's commemorate the day with a look at Kamara's 33-yard touchdown catch versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Alvin Kamara had Tampa Bay defenders fooled
You can visibly see the Buccaneers defense stop playing because they thought the play was over. Kamara forces a lot of missed tackles, but this was a particularly close call. The only reason he didn't go all the way to the ground is because he used his hand to keep him up.
The Buccaneers defender had Kamara fully wrapped up, but somehow Kamara just didn't hit the ground. There were four Tampa Bay players who came to a full stop. It's not a lack of effort. The play just clearly appeared to be finished. Kamara showed them why it's important to play through the whistle.
Kamara never stopped his feet so as he broke free, he just sprinted towards the end zone. In true Kamara fashion, though, he slowed it down and jogged into the end zone. This was definitely a teaching moment for the Buccaneers defense in film study the next week. For Kamara, this was just one of many highlights from his rookie campaign.