Redskins at Saints: Mark Ingram will change things for Alvin Kamara

The Saints have scored a ton of points this season, but the return of Mark Ingram could make the New Orleans offense even tougher to stop.

The Redskins have seen enough on tape from the Saints offense this season to be very concerned about their matchup on Sunday. The bad news for Washington is that Sean Payton’s group will be even more talented this week. The return of Mark Ingram from suspension will give Jay Gruden’s defense something else to worry about.

There is a slight chance that Ingram’s return could hurt the Saints offense in the short-term. After all, Alvin Kamara has been on fire through four games. That’s not the most likely outcome though. Unfortunately for the Redskins, there’s a high probability that Ingram is going to take his frustration out on them.

That doesn’t mean the Redskins can’t pull off an upset though. Alex Smith and this offense have shown the ability to score points of their own this season. The Saints defense has endured some really ugly performances in 2018. Giving up 48 points to the Buccaneers and 37 to the Falcons proves they can be victimized. Specifically, the Saints secondary has struggled to defend the pass against several offenses this season.

It won’t be easy for Smith and company though. They aren’t blessed with the skill position talent that either Tampa Bay or Atlanta can put out on the field. Specifically, their wide receiving corps isn’t as good. There’s going to be a ton of pressure on Paul Richardson, Josh Doctson and Jamison Crowder to put up numbers in this game. Don’t forget about tight end Jordan Reed though. He might be the Redskins player most capable of having a career day against a suddenly mediocre Saints secondary.

Unfortunately for Redskins fans, their team will be required to play defense against the Saints as well. That’s where this game is going to get away from Washington. It’s hard to imagine this group doing much to slow Drew Brees and company down. With all of our earlier talk about Kamara and Ingram, it’s Michael Thomas who may be in line for the biggest performance of the day. Don’t be shocked if he really shows out against Josh Norman in this one.

The Redskins might find a way to keep up with the Saints for a half, but they’re going to wilt away in the third quarter. As long as the Saints take care of the football, they should be in position to win pretty comfortably.