EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Five straight losses didn’t sit well with the New Orleans Saints. So they took it out on the skidding New York Jets, and things felt just about normal again.
Alvin Kamara ran for 120 yards and a touchdown in his return from a four-game absence, and the Saints snapped their longest skid under Sean Payton with a 30-9 victory Sunday.
“This has been a tough stretch for this team,” said quarterback Taysom Hill, who had two TD runs. “It’s been a foreign thing, losing so many games. ... It’s nice to get this win.”
And having Kamara back in the backfield was key for the Saints (6-7).
“He gave us some real good juice and energy, and he always does,” Payton said.
After missing four games with a sprained knee, Kamara looked fully healthy again while carrying the ball 27 times in his fifth career 100-yard rushing performance. He also caught four passes for 25 yards.
“Man, just having his presence on the field and having the ability to hand him the ball,” Hill said, “he just does so much for this team just being there.”
After injuring his right middle finger in the Saints’ previous game, Hill was 15 of 21 for 175 yards, and ran for 73 yards on 11 carries. He got hit on his hand during the game and said the injury affected him at times.
“It was OK,” he said. “Overall, I thought we were able to manage it.”
Brett Maher added three field goals and the Saints defense stifled Zach Wilson and New York’s short-handed offense as the Jets (3-10) were eliminated from playoff contention. They have missed the postseason 11 straight years, tying the franchise’s longest drought set from 1970-80. It is also the longest active skid in the NFL.
“It’s going to flip,” coach Robert Saleh insisted. “This crappy part is part of the process, but at the same time it’s not discouraging by any sense of the imagination because we’ve got a lot of young guys getting a lot of good playing time.”
New York was missing wide receivers Corey Davis (groin) and Elijah Moore (quadriceps) and running backs Michael Carter (high ankle sprain) and Tevin Coleman (concussion) — and it showed. The Jets went just 3 of 14 on third down and had only 256 yards of offense.
