Reliving The Saints Greatest Christmas Moment

Just 11 months earlier, at the start of 2020, the Minnesota Vikings ended the Saints season with an upset win inside the Superdome during the wild-card playoff round. On Christmas Day of 2020, the 6-8 Vikings return to face a 10-4 New Orleans squad.

Unlike the previous year's playoffs, the Saints came out intense and sharp. Brees, playing out his final NFL season, was crisp in throwing for 311 yards on just 19 completions. New Orleans, owners of a top-5 defense, was a little shaky on that side of the ball but held their own despite 364 total yards from Minnesota.

The Saints simply outclassed the Vikings with 583 total yards of their own. It was an offensive eruption reminiscent of the glory days of the Sean Payton/Drew Brees regime. On this day, however, Brees was actually outshined by a Christmas miracle courtesy of running back Alvin Kamara.

New Orleans got the scoring started with a 75-yard touchdown march ending with a 40-yard scoring dash by Kamara. When Minnesota immediately answered with a touchdown of their own, the Saints struck right back with a 1-yard Kamara scoring run.

A Wil Lutz field goal early in the second pushed the Saints to a 17-7 lead, but the Vikings closed to within three with another touchdown drive. Kamara's third touchdown of the day, this a 5-yard run, gave New Orleans a 24-14 halftime lead.

Not going quietly, Minnesota again closed the gap on a third quarter touchdown reception by TE Irv Smith Jr., son of former Saints TE Irv Smith. Kamara again struck back, putting New Orleans back up by 10 with a 6-yard touchdown run.

Another Smith scoring grab closed the Saints lead to 31-27 to close out the third quarter. Once again, Kamara extended his team's advantage with a 7-yard scoring rush early in the fourth quarter.

After an exchange of two more fourth quarter touchdowns, Kamara put an exclamation point on a resounding win with a 3-yard touchdown run. It was his sixth rushing score of the day.

The Saints did not punt once during their 52-33 victory. It was also essentially the last glorious moment before fortunes drastically changed in New Orleans.

The Saints finished the 2020 season with a 12-4 record and their fourth consecutive NFC South championship. Unfortunately, they fell to division rival Tampa Bay in the Divisional playoffs at home following a win in the wild-card round.

After that loss, Drew Brees retired. Sean Payton resigned the following year after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Over the three seasons since, the Saints have a 21-28 record. That includes a 5-10 mark this year, their fourth straight without a postseason appearance.

The Christmas Day rout of Minnesota still left an indelible memory on not just the Saints, but the history of the NFL. Kamara tortured the Vikings with 155 rushing yards, which remains a career-high, along with three receptions for an additional 17 yards.

Kamara's incredible six touchdowns is what what especially etched out an unforgettable Christmas memory. The six total scores is an NFL record only matched twice in NFL history, by Chicago's Gale Sayers in 1965, and Cleveland's Dub Jones in 1951.

Only ONE other player has ever scored six rushing touchdowns in the same game. Kamara tied an NFL record set and unmatched since 1929 when Ernie Nevers did it with the Chicago Cardinals.

The Brees/Kamara spirit of Saints Christmas past departs, shaking their head. Enters is a different incarnation of Kamara to represent Saints Christmas present. They have a frustrated and despondent look as they remind Loomis that #41 is still an extremely talented player capable of such performances, but going to waste with a lack of talent around him.

The final spirit is that of Saints Christmas Future. It is a faceless quarterback with a giant question mark where a uniform number should be. This spirit is also a reminder of how special the Saints were not long ago on the calendar, but a lifetime ago when comparing today's squad to that special Christmas Day in 2020.