Vikings could not stop Alvin Kamara the grinch, who ran the Saints to a victory, 52-33

Minnesota- Missed tackles haunted the Vikings, as they were eliminated from the playoff race after the Saints defeated them 52-33.

Prior to the game, Minnesota wanted to give their fans, as well as themselves, a Christmas gift with a win over the New Orleans Saints on Christmas day. With a victory over the Saints, the Vikings would still be in contention for a playoff spot, but with a loss, their playoff hopes would cease.

After trailing early in the first quarter, Kirk Cousins and company answered right back with a touchdown of their own. Dalvin Cook busted the Saints' secondary for a 16-yard touchdown run to tie up the game, 7-7. Minnesota's concerns grew as their defense gave up big gains on the ground to Alvin Kamara on the ensuing drive. Kamara powered through the Vikings' defense and capped off the drive with his second touchdown of the night to put the Saints back on top,14-7.

The defensive nightmare for the Vikings' continued in the second quarter, as they did not have an answer for the Saints' offense. Early in the second, the Saints tacked on a field goal to go up 17-7 over Minnesota. With 10 minutes left in the half, Cousins hit Mike Boone for a four-yard touchdown to squeeze back into the game, 17-14.

Before the end of the half, the Saints tacked on another touchdown to walk into the break with a 24-14 lead. Minnesota gave up a total of 325 yards in two quarters.

The Vikings got a huge break at the start of the third quarter, Brees was picked off for the second time of the night. Three plays later, the Vikings found themselves in the endzone, but missed the PAT to cut the Saints' lead to four, 24-20.

Late into the third, the Vikings' secondary was getting shredded by the Saints running attack. Kamara went on to score his fourth touchdown and extend the Saints ' lead 31-20. After the Saints' scored, the Vikings intensity started to pick up and you could feel the urgency to score on their next possession. Captain Kirk hit a couple of his receivers in stride and got themselves into the redzone. A couple plays later Cousins threw a five-yard touchdown lob to Irv Smith Jr. to inch themselves within striking distance, 31-27.

At the start of the fourth, the Kamara show continued. On his fifth touchdown, he ran over defenders and miss tackles to give the Saints a 38-27 lead. The Saints iced the game and the Vikings season with a one-yard touchdown by Taysom Hill, 45-27. The final score 52-33

Key Notes

The Vikings allowed the Saints to have a total of 585 yards

Kamara tied Ernie Nevers with scoring six rushing touchdowns in a game