Do Mark Ingram & Alvin Kamara Give Saints Their Best Running Game Ever?
Does the New Orleans Saints running back tandem of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara give them the best running attack in franchise history?
Most definitely, yes!
Through 12 games, Ingram has 922 rushing yards, well on his way to his second-straight 1,000-yard rushing season, while Kamara has 606 yards.
If they continue at their respective paces, they would combine to finish with over 2,000 yards.
Let's compare that to that 1981 Saints:
I say 1981, because that year George Rogers set a single-season team record, which still stands today, with 1,674 rushing yards.
Wayne Wilson, Rogers' back-up that season, only rushed for 137 yards.
So, together, Rogers and Wilson rushed for 1,813 yards, which Ingram and Kamara are on pace to eclipse by over 200 yards.
What about 2003, when Deuce McAllister rushed for 1,641 yards, the second-most ever by a Saints player?
McAllister was complimented in the backfield that year by Ki-Jana Carter, who only rushed for 72 yards.
So, the 1,713 combined yards that McAllister and Carter rushed for in 2003 would fall over 300 yards short of Ingram and Kamara, if the latter duo stays on their current pace.
Dalton Hilliard and Rueben Mayes? No, the best they could muster was 1,777 yards in 1986.
The bottom line is the Dynamic Duo of Ingram and Kamara has been nothing short of sensational this year.
Where to start?!?!?
In the Saints' 31-21 win over the Carolina Panthers last week, Kamara finished with 60 rushing yards, 66 receiving yards, and two touchdowns, while Ingram accumulated 85 rushing yards, 37 receiving yards, and a score.
It was the fourth time this season that they both finished with more than 100 yards from scrimmage, the first time a running back duo accomplished that since 1985 when Roger Craig and Wendell Tyler did it for the San Francisco 49ers.
Ingram, at the age of 27, is having his best NFL season, on pace to rush for a career-high 1,200 yards, while Kamara leads the NFL with 7.0 yards per carry this season.
Kamara has become just the third rookie in NFL history with more than 600 rushing yards and 600 receiving yards in a season, and there are still four games remaining.
The thing is too; they keep getting better!
Ingram and Kamara have combined for at least 200 yards from scrimmage in five straight games, while totaling 1,872 total yards since Week 6, and have combined for 20 touchdowns since week 3.
The Saints are currently third in the NFL, averaging 142.6 rushing yards-per-game, and Ingram and Kamara are the reason why.
I always talk about enjoying the moment. Well, enjoy these two, because Saints fans have never seen a backfield tandem this good, and will be lucky if they ever do again.