Saints by the Numbers: Kamara has career-best rushing day

After catching a career-best 15 passes in last Sunday’s overtime victory in Atlanta, Alvin Kamara set another career high in the Saints’ 33-18 victory over the New York Giants.

Kamara finished with a career-high 134 yards on 19 carries and tied a franchise record with three rushing touchdowns, becoming the 11th Saints to run for three TDs in a game.

Before Sunday, Kamara’s only other career 100-yard game was in last season’s shellacking of Buffalo, when the second-year back and Mark Ingram both topped the century mark. Kamara had 106 yards against the Bills.

Speaking of Ingram, he can return to Airline Drive Monday after his four-game suspension.

***

100 Means Wins: Kamara’s 100-yard game was the 31st by a Saints running back in the regular season since Sean Payton arrived in 2006. Accounting for a pair of games with two backs topping the 100-yard mark, there have been 29 games with a 100-yard rusher.

The Saints are 25-4 with a 100-yard back in that span.

Nine different backs have reached the 100-yard mark since 2006: Ingram (13), Deuce McAllister (4), Pierre Thomas (4), Chris Ivory (3), Kamara (2), Tim Hightower (2), Mike Bell (1), Reggie Bush (1) and Aaron Stecker (1).

***

Drew Gets Closer: The statistical focus next week will fall on Drew Brees, who can become the NFL’s career leader in passing yards next Monday night against Washington in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

After passing for 217 yards against the Giants, Brees has passed for 71,740 yards in his career, which ranks third all-time.

He needs 99 yards next Monday to pass Brett Favre for second on the all-time list and 201 to surpass Peyton Manning for the top spot.

What are his chances? In 194 career starts as a Saint, Brees has passed for 200 or more yards 179 times – 23 more than any other NFL quarterback since 2006.

***

Settling for FGs: Before Kamara’s three touchdown runs in the second half, the Saints struggled in the red zone in the first half, settling for Wil Lutz field goals on all four trips inside the 20.

The four field goals ties the most in a game under Payton, and it was the fourth time in franchise history the Saints have scored 12 first-half points on four field goals.

***

Closing Out: The Saints scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns for the fourth consecutive game. Since 2006, New Orleans has scored 14 or more points in the final quarter 39 times, topped only by Pittsburgh’s 41.

***

Turnovers and Total Yards: Coming out on the positive side of the turnover margin is usually a tell-tale sign for victory. Ironically, though, the Saints had lost their last two games before Sunday with a turnover margin of plus-2 or better.

Both of those games – December losses last year on the road to Atlanta and Tampa Bay – came when the Saints were outgained in total yards.

Combine a plus-2 turnover margin with a positive edge in total yards – like Sunday, when the Saints outgained the Giants 389-299 and had a 2-0 edge in takeaways – and New Orleans is 26-1 since Payton’s arrival.

***

Under 300: It was close, but the Saints defense held the Giants to 299 total yards, a season-best performance for Dennis Allen’s unit.

A year ago, New Orleans was 7-0 when holding its opponent to below 300 total yards. Since 2006, the Saints are 44-13 when its opponent fails to reach the 300-yard mark.

Research assistance provided through the website Pro Football Reference.