Baltimore Ravens week 2 player spotlight: Mark Ingram

With the 2020 NFL season finally here there is a handful of players fans are excited to see on the field. This week it’s fan-favorite Mark Ingram.

This might be a surprise to some people but I really think this is an important game for Mark Ingram and we’re only two weeks into the season. Last week, Mark Ingram carried the ball 10 times for 29-yards which is a minuscule 2.9 yards per carry. When you take into account 8 of those yards came on one carry early in the first quarter, it’s a bit underwhelming compared to what we saw last season. Now, a majority of the blame could be placed on the below-average outing from the Marshal Yanda-less offensive line, but Ingram still missed a few open running lanes.

Then you add in the fact the Ravens spent a second-round pick on Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins who had two touchdowns last Sunday, another bad game Ingram could stir up a debate for who should start. We all know how fans act when a shiny new piece is added through the draft; as soon as the starter struggles they call for the young buck to replace him. This could end up being a similar situation to the one Mark Ingram had to deal with in New Orleans when Alvin Kamara was drafted in the third round and quickly exceeded expectations.

We know John Harbaugh loves to go with the hot hand, especially at the running back position, so you have to wonder what happens if Dobbins outperforms Ingram against Houston this week. I don’t think it will make much of a difference if Dobbins is promoted to the “starter” because of how much the carries are split anyways but it would still be surprising. No one thought Dobbins would get as much action as he did in week one, especially in the red zone, but maybe the coaching staff is a lot higher on him than we expected them to be this early.

Either way, I think this running back competition is a good situation to have because as iron sharpens iron, Ingram and Dobbins are just going to make each other better. Whatever ends up happening, we don’t have to worry about any bad blood between the two because Ingram is completely a team player and that’s been evident since the day he arrived in Baltimore.

Although this could certainly be premature as we’re barely two weeks into the season, I think the Ravens coaching staff is a lot higher on J.K Dobbins than we thought they would be at this point. Much like Ray Rice took the starting running back job from Willis McGahee early into his rookie season because he gave the coaching staff no other option, Dobbins could do the same thing to Mark Ingram. We all love Mark Ingram and I still think he’ll get a contract extension in Baltimore, but this is a big week for him which is why he’s my spotlight player of the week.