Mark Ingram doled out the block of the year against new Rams defensive end Dante Fowler in a decisive NFC playoff battle.
There were two definitive plays during the first half of football in New Orleans that likely determined the outcome of the game. The first was a missed first down call on what should have been a converted fake field goal run by Los Angeles Rams punter Johnny Hekker. The second was an eviscerating block that led to Alvin Kamara’s third touchdown of the game.
Both had a direct effect on the flow of the first half and both went against the Rams.
You can read all about the missed first down and its ripple effect here, but not before witnessing what Mark Ingram did to a fully grown adult male who is paid to play professional football.
The block alone is insane, but it’s made even greater when you realize who was on the receiving end of it.
If you blink you’ll miss it but that’s Dante Fowler, the Rams new defensive end acquired from Jacksonville at the trade deadline for a pair of draft picks. Los Angeles has been the best team in the league record-wise this year, but the brooding defense has been lacking extra pass rush in the last few weeks. That’s largely what motivated the move to go out and get the former first-round pick, and this is not at all what Wade Phillips was hoping for.
With Bruce Irvin recently hitting the market following his release by Oakland, and a clear need for more pass rush, Los Angeles would be smart to go out and get him. That’s more of a reflection on the need to make the defense as good as it possibly can be, but the optics of the new guy literally getting flipped over his first day on the job serves as extra motivation.