Alvin Kamara named NFC Offensive Player of the Week

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara has been selected as the Week 16 NFC Offensive Player of the Week, the first selection of his four-year career.

Kamara, 5 feet 10, 215 pounds, enjoyed a career day and performance for the ages in New Orleans’ 52-33 win over the Minnesota Vikings at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Dec. 25, tying the NFL record for both total touchdowns and rushing touchdowns with his six scores on the ground. Kamara carried 22 times for a career-high 155 yards (7.0 avg.), adding three receptions for 17 yards for 172 total yards from scrimmage. The rushing touchdowns record tied the record help by Ernie Nevers of the Chicago Cardinals since Nov. 28, 1929, while for total touchdowns, Kamara joins Nevers, the Cleveland Browns’ Dub Jones (Nov. 25, 1951) and the Chicago Bears’ Gale Sayers (Dec.12, 1965).

In 2020, Kamara, a third round draft pick out of the University of Tennessee in 2017, has carried 187 times for a career-high 932 yards (5.0 avg.) with 16 touchdowns, tied for first in the NFL. He leads all running backs in receiving with a career-best and team-leading 83 receptions for 756 yards (9.1 avg.) with five touchdowns. Kamara, who will be only the second Saints to lead the team in both rushing and receiving, currently leads the NFL with a franchise-record 21 total touchdowns after his Christmas Day scoring outburst, is ranked second in the league with 93 first downs and third with a career-best 1,688 total yards from scrimmage, the seventh-highest total in club history. He is the only Saint to be selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons.