Bottom line:
This week I feel being without Mark Ingram is manageable. The Ravens are a significantly better team than the Titans and overall their talent should prove too much for Tennessee. So what do you do with Ingram? Do you run him out there at 80% and risk further injury to his calf that could leave him out for the remainder of the playoffs? Or do you play it cautious and let the rest of the offensive weapons handle the load this week against the Titans?
I want to point out that I am in no way overlooking the Titans. They are a good football team with arguably the game’s best running back and have been playing about as well as anyone outside of Charm City the last 11 weeks. But With the Chiefs potentially looming in the AFC title game, I want the Ravens at full strength. The first time the Ravens saw the Chiefs this season Ingram had 135 total yards and three touchdowns in a game the Ravens still lost. Every game is different but losing that level of production would leave me concerned in a rematch against KC.
The Ravens need Mark Ingram healthy for the AFC title game and beyond. If he has to sit this week to ensure that he will be 100% for those matchups, then that’s a risk worth taking.
The Ravens Super Bowl hopes may very well depend on it.