The New Orleans Saints are off to yet another promising start out of the gate to the season that has seen their offense lead the way toward holding one of the best records in the league.

New Orleans has received even more firepower in the running game with the return of Pro Bowl running back Mark Ingram last Monday after serving his four-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drugs policy.

This had resulted in Ingram getting a larger amount of touches in his first game back, which is something that head coach Sean Payton wants to get back to putting a balanced number of touches from their dynamic duo moving forward, according to Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate.

“It just changes how the game unfolds. Alvin’s nine touches, I think is a little bit of byproduct of a 60-yard scoring strike, another 40,” Payton said. “Those change kind of the pitch count, if you will.”

In Ingram's season debut against the Washington Redskins, he was more of the workhorse running back as he garnered 53 rushing yards on 16 attempts with a pair of touchdowns along with two receptions for 20 receiving yard. Meanwhile, Alvin Kamara had just 24 rushing yards on six attempts with three catches for 15 receiving yards.

There was an obvious emphasis to get Ingram quickly into the fold that saw him garner the goalline duties running the ball as both of his scores came within the five-yard line. It is a trend that will likely continue in his favor, but the Saints have shown in the past that they can balance the workload of each to maximize their effectiveness.

The Saints have one of the league's most potent offenses, which largely depends on their running game to provide balance aside from star quarterback Drew Brees' continuing to shoulder the offensive load. This is something that the team has a chance to once again push forward for yet another promising season behind their two-headed attack in the backfield.