The New Orleans Saints are enjoying a return-to-form season behind their high powered offense. Following a 49-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, the Saints hold a one-game lead over the Carolina Panthers for the NFC South title and are only getting better each time they step onto the field. While quarterback Drew Brees took center stage in the win, it was the run game that saw a trust burst of energy in the win.
Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles and Mark Ingram proved that sometimes a three running back rotation can be successful at times. All three players drove the ball down throats of the Cowboys defensive front as Thomas did not hesitate when saying it was the unit's best overall performance. While Sproles did most of the pass catching, Ingram and Thomas accounted for 242 yards of the 625 gained by the Saints in Week 10.
Thomas and Ingram worked well in tandem for the first time in years. The put up the most rushing yards in a single game during the Sean Payton era for the Saints and the most since at least 1990. Ingram looked like the first-round draft pick the Saints were hoping to get after putting up a career-high 145 yards on just 14 carries.
"He was a man on a mission today," Drew Brees said, via Nola.com
Much has been made about Ingram's career in New Orleans. He had been inactive for most of the season so far, so the big numbers came as a bit of a surprise for most fans. Brees note that Ingram was hungry for a big game so he just kept feeding him the ball. It was the first time a Saints running back topped 100 yards on the ground since Week 2 of last year.
"We just wanted to come out here on a national stage and just prove to everybody that we could play smash-mouth football and run the ball," Ingram said. "I've been waiting for a 100-yard game since I got in the league. ... The line just did a great job, just a fantastic job. They were just getting a hat on a hat, creating seems for us to run through. When they're dominating the line of scrim like that it makes our job easy."
Ingram notes that his health is at a good place and he was simply anxious to get on the field and contribute. Thomas is certain this game is just the beginning for the running unit, something the rest of the NFL should fear.
