Pierre Thomas Injury: Saints Running Back Ruled Out Against Eagles

The New Orleans Saints have officially ruled out starting running back Pierre Thomas for Saturday night's Eagles-Saints playoff game.

Pierre is a significant loss for New Orleans considering he's a starter who has played 50% of the team's offensive snaps during the 2013 season. Pierre leads Saints running backs with 549 rushing yards. He also recorded 77 catches for 513 yards through the air. Pierre scored a total of 5 TDs in the regular season.

Without Pierre, the Saints will rely on backup running backs Mark Ingram and Darren Sproles. Ingram has 386 yards on 78 attempts this year. Sproles gained 220 yards on 53 carries but is a bigger threat in the passing game where he has 71 catches for 604 yards.

The Saints offense is known for spreading the ball around and not relying too heavily on one player, but missing Pierre won't help matters.

More from Bleeding Green Nation

Follow @BleedingGreen Follow @SBNationNFL

• 2014 NFL Playoffs, Eagles vs. Saints: Game time, TV schedule, online streaming, and more
• LeSean McCoy, Jason Peters, and Evan Mathis Named to 2013 AP NFL All-Pro Team
• What Goes Wrong on 3rd and Long?
• The Saints Road Struggles
• The 2013 Bleeding Green Nation Awards: Nick Foles and LeSean McCoy are slam dunks for two major awards
• The Linc - NFL Wild Card Weekend 2014 Preview