Mark Ingram mouth guards

Player Spotlight: Mark Ingram, Baltimore Ravens

Featured Mouth Guards: Ingram was seen wearing a LOUDMOUTH Money Mouth Guard, and a LOUDMOUTH Gold Grill Mouth Guard. 

Mark Ingram, the Baltimore Ravens’ lead running back, will enter the 2020 NFL season looking to defy the odds and dominate at age 30.

Ingram, who was drafted out of the University of Alabama in 2011, joined the Ravens last season after an eight-year tenure with the New Orleans Saints. He made the Pro Bowl twice, in 2014 and 2017, and cemented himself as one of the league’s premier offensive threats alongside quarterback Drew Brees.

During his time in New Orleans, Ingram was never able to be the Saints’ workhorse due to their running back-by-committee approach. Instead, New Orleans used him as a bruiser who got first-down and goal-line touches.

But once Ingram signed with Baltimore in 2019, that all changed. John Harbaugh finally made him an every-down back, and it proved to be the right choice. In his ninth year at arguably the most physically punishing position in football, Ingram totaled 1018 yards and 10 touchdowns in route to a third Pro Bowl appearance. When combined with an MVP season from sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson, Ingram’s resurgence led Baltimore to a 14-2 record and the AFC North division title.

Jackson and Ingram electrified the Ravens’ offense, providing a dynamic ground attack that ran circles around opposing defenses. Ingram, for his part, averaged a ridiculous 5.5 yards per touch and even totaled 247 receiving yards, displaying some surprising versatility for his size. Baltimore finished the regular season with 3,296 rushing yards, the most in the NFL. They ranked second in total yards with 6,521, second in rushing touchdowns with 21, and first in passing touchdowns with 37.

Baltimore also boasted one of the best defenses in the NFL, allowing the third-fewest points in the league at 282. They also ranked fourth in yards allowed with 4,809 and fifth in turnover percentage at an impressive 14.6%.

The Ravens’ first of two regular season losses would come against the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3. The second, however, was a head-scratching 40-25 blowout at the hands of the middling Cleveland Browns in Week 4. But Baltimore recovered beautifully, finishing the season on a 12-game winning streak in which they beat the Seahawks, Patriots, and 49ers.

However, Jackson’s inexperience and the team’s deficiencies were exposed at the hands of the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Divisional Round, where they lost 28-12. Ingram finished with just 22 rushing yards, and Jackson turned the ball over three times in a shaky performance.

Nonetheless, Ingram will have an opportunity to stave off Father Time for another year in 2020 when he lines up in the Ravens’ backfield again. Baltimore drafted another running back in Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins, but Ingram will likely get a high percentage of touches again. If he can stay healthy, another 1000-yard season and Pro Bowl selection are entirely possible.