LONDON -- Alvin Kamara wasn't sold on it when the New Orleans Saints installed a shovel pass at practice during the week. On Sunday, he became a believer.
Kamara scored a touchdown on that very play, taking Drew Brees' left-handed toss 12 yards to the end zone, and the Saints used it to punctuate their 20-0 victory over the Miami Dolphins on a rainy afternoon at Wembley Stadium.
A rookie out of Tennessee, Kamara finished with a season-high 96 all-purpose yards, including 71 receiving, and had Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael to thank.
"That's one of those special plays where we're like, 'All right, we're practicing it, but are we going to run it?' " said Kamara, who scored with 3:57 remaining. "We dialed it up and ran it."
Brees threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns, with Michael Thomas catching the other, as New Orleans (2-2) picked up the first shutout in 19 games held in Britain's capital.
It was the first time the Saints didn't allow a point since Dec. 16, 2012, a 41-0 victory against Tampa Bay. Miami (1-2) finished with 186 total yards -- its fewest since its last shutout, a 19-0 loss at Buffalo on Dec. 22, 2013.
"The defense got a shutout," Brees said. "Offensively, we sustained drives. We did all the things you need to do for winning football."
It was expected to be a big homecoming for the Dolphins' Jay Ajayi, who was born in the city, but the running back finished with 46 yards on 12 carries.
Jay Cutler completed 20 of 28 passes for 164 yards with an interception for Miami, which has now scored only once in its past eight quarters -- a touchdown on the final play of a loss at the New York Jets in Week 3.
"On offense, we need to have some pride in ourselves, some respect for ourselves," Ajayi said. "Put some points on the board. We're not doing that. We need to get back to what we know we can do."
The teams threatened to have the first scoreless opening half since Week 14 of the 2011 season until Saints kicker Will Lutz connected from 43 yards with no time remaining.
Lutz made two other field goals, a 43-yarder and a 45-yarder, and Thomas -- who had 8 catches for 89 yards -- caught a 4-yard pass from Brees to push the score to 10-0 in the third quarter.
Sports on 10/02/2017