According to ESPN Stats & Information and the Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett), the Saints are the first team in 42 years to send two running backs to the Pro Bowl.
ESPN Stats & Info on Twitter
Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara now each have at least 1,200 scrimmage yards and 10 scrimmage TD this season. Per @EliasSports, they are the 3rd pair of RB teammates to each reach those marks in a single season in NFL history and the first since Ickey Woods and James Brooks in 1988.
For some reason, Elias is excluding Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott in 1997 and 2000, when Alstott was selected as a fullback, but that aside, the most recent duo to make the Pro Bowl from the same backfield with 100-plus rushing attempts was the St. Louis Cardinals’ Jim Otis and Terry Metcalf in 1975.
Explosive rookie Alvin Kamara and rejuvenated veteran back Mark Ingram are the main reasons why the Saints are 10-4 and tied with the Panthers atop the NFC South.
I dont know if its ever happened before, but were in the business of making history, so hopefully thats the case, Ingram said before the Pro Bowl announcement.
The combination has been dominating. Ingram has handled most of the ground and pound aspect of the multifaceted Saints offense to perfection with his second consecutive 1,000 yard rushing season, averaging 5.1 yards per carry with 11 TDs. Hes also caught 51 passes out of the backfield, showing an increased versatility that makes him one of the NFLs most dominant threats.
They even have a nickname now.
Yahoo Sports on Twitter
Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram, we dub thee Two Dat! #TNF #NOvsATL
Kamara is a third-round pick out of Tennessee who is chasing fellow 2017 Pro Bowler Le’Veon Bell as the most complete two-way back in the sport. Kamara is the Saints big-hit guy, with the elite speed and athleticism that Ingram lacks.
Kamara has stormed the NFL scene, creating lit highlights en route to becoming the fourth rookie in NFL history to receive and run for over 600 yards. Kamara is 11-time Pro Bowler Drew Brees second favorite target.
The player who left Alabama due to behavioral issues and a logjam of NFL talent in the backfield had to go to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas before transferring to Tennessee in 2015. The steal of the 2017 NFL draft steal has 652 yards and seven rushing TDs and 684 receiving yards with five TD grabs.
In addition to the many talents that these guys bring to the Saints offense, they have a close relationship which creates even better chemistry on the gridiron. Kamara credits Ingram with being supportive and a stabilizing influence, a huge impact on his transition into the pros.
Yeah, it’s definitely a lot of, you know — man, a lot of love coming from — radiating from me, just feeling that, you know, I’ve been able to have such a successful pro career up to this point, Kamara told FOX Sports panelists Cris Carter, Nick Wright and Jenna Wolfe.
You know, I feel great about it — you know, slipped in the draft, you know, but I was never really worried about where I went. I just knew that where I did end up, I would do whatever I had to do to make some plays and produce for the team.
Josh Katzenstein on Twitter
Cam Jordan crashed the Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara video interview with Deion Sanders. https://t.co/JRYsM9LZph
Kamara is making everybody pay for making him the fifth back selected in the 2017 Draft. He has fallen into the perfect offense with Brees and Sean Payton, and formed the perfect union on and off the field with Ingram, another of the Saints NFC-high six Pro Bowl selections. They are leading the charge for an NFL squad that is No. 1 in Total Offense and emerging as a legit Super Bowl contender regardless of what disbelievers say.
I mean, it is what it is, you know?,” said Kamara. “I think it’s one of those things where a lot of people, you know, they don’t really believe it. But we don’t need anybody to believe in us but us, you know? I think we talk about that in the locker room. We’re worried about our team. We’re not worried about what any other team thinks. We’re not worried about what any other team is doing. We’re just worried about what we’re doing. We control our destiny. So I think that’s kind of what we focus on.
Philadelphia also had six NFC Pro Bowlers. Carson Wentz, of course, right tackle Lane Johnson, right guard Brandon Brooks, safety Malcolm Jenkins, tight end Zach Ertz and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.
Other Saints selected were cornerback Marshon Lattimore, rookie wide receiver Michael Thomas and nasty edge rusher Cam Jordan.
The AFCs Steelers finished with a league-high eight Pro Bowl selections.
