Two weeks ago in our season preview we asked whether we were expecting too much from the Ravens offense?

Today, Baltimore began the Jesse Minter era with 41 points in Indianapolis.

Let’s go through what Week 1 told us, what it didn’t, and what it means for a home opener against New Orleans.

Superman And Batman

Derrick Henry carried it 24 times for 144 yards and scored three times in the 41-23 win — from four yards, then 32, then three. That’s 125 career rushing touchdowns, past Marcus Allen and behind only Emmitt Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson. It was his 33rd game with multiple rushing scores, the most in the league since 2016, and it moved him past Marvin Harrison into ninth all-time in total touchdowns.

Jackson went 17-of-25 for 324 yards and a touchdown, ran four times for 43, scored from five yards out on the opening possession, and had a 19-yard scramble that answered the “does he still run like that” question for at least one afternoon. He also threw the 49-yard strike to Zay Flowers on the second snap of the season that set up the first score.

Of those 324 passing yards, 229 came in the first half. The first half that Flowers played. Baltimore scored 31 before the break, the fifth time in franchise history they’ve done that, and 10 after it. The last of that 10 came on a drive that chewed more than six minutes and ended in Tyler Loop’s 45-yarder with 4:09 left, which is what a team protecting an 18-point lead is supposed to do.

Henry of course wears down opposing defenses with his physicality, and historically is a finisher. With the lead, and running out of WRs; it was even easier to continue to feed Henry late.

The Receiver Depth

Flowers had five catches for 150 yards and a 54-yard catch-and-run touchdown, all of it before halftime. Next Gen Stats had him gaining 48 of those 54 yards after the catch, 33 more than expected, and ranked him fifth among all receivers in yards after the catch since the start of 2025. He signed for four years and $140 million a month ago.

Stampede Blue’s game-day preview predicted Sauce Gardner would lock him down early and take away Baltimore’s easiest answer. Flowers had 150 yards by halftime. Then, with about five and a half minutes left in the second quarter, he grabbed at his left hamstring after a 12-yard catch on which Gardner made the tackle. He didn’t play again.

The hamstring is an aggravation, not a new injury. Flowers missed two weeks with that hamstring in August, returned to practice last week, was a full participant on Friday and carried no injury designation into Sunday. He broke down anyway, in the first half of Week 1. Soft-tissue recurrences in a player who just went through this do not typically clear up in six days.

Ja’Kobi Lane hurt a wrist in the first half and finished his NFL debut with one catch for 11 yards. Devontez Walker was already inactive with a lingering groin, and Elijah Sarratt was a healthy scratch.

Which left this as Baltimore’s healthy active receiver room for the second half of a season opener: Rashod Bateman, LaJohntay Wester – who is primarily a punt returner – and Chris Moore, elevated off the practice squad on Saturday. Moore returned a kick 42 yards and pulled in a 53-yard catch at a point in the game when somebody had to.

The veterans who were available didn’t fill the hole. Sarah Ellison’s postgame read called it a disappointing afternoon for both Mark Andrews and Bateman, in a game where their two teammates went down in front of them and 41 points went up. In our season preview we talked about the need for Andrews and Bateman to rebound to their 2024 production vs. their 2025 seasons. Would have liked to have seen more from Bateman today, especially once Flowers went out.

We should know more this week on Flowers and Lane.

What Minter’s Defense Actually Did

Indianapolis opened the game with a nine-play, 65-yard touchdown drive. Roquan Smith told Jamison Hensley afterward that the defense took a deep breath on the sideline and told each other that wasn’t them. Then Smith picked Daniel Jones on the Colts’ second possession, Marlon Humphrey – who played through an illness that had him questionable – stripped Jonathan Taylor to end the next one, and Baltimore converted both into points and was up 28-6 in a hurry.

Strip out the takeaways and the picture is less flattering. That opening drive was built almost entirely on short passes: 25 yards to Josh Downs on third-and-three, 12 more to Downs on third-and-eight, seven to Keenan Allen, 13 to Alec Pierce. In our season preview we noted that this defensive scheme gives you a clean look, rushes four, concedes the underneath throw and dares you to be patient. Indianapolis was patient for one drive, then Jones made two mistakes and it stopped mattering.

The final numbers for the run defense weren’t great. Taylor carried 19 times for 98 yards and scored twice. That’s 5.2 yards per carry.

Stampede Blue predicted that production this morning, pointing out that Taylor went for 94 yards and three touchdowns against Minter’s Chargers last October and that the scheme hasn’t fundamentally changed. He then went out and did it again.

Our preview said Baltimore’s plan was to stop Taylor with the front, specifically Madubuike, Travis Jones and Campbell holding up on early downs. Madubuike wasn’t there. Zion Young, drafted in part because he posted an 86.6 run-defense grade in college and could cover Hendrickson’s weakness setting an edge, was playing his first NFL game.

The Colts scored 23 with a quarterback nine months off an Achilles. Minter’s Chargers gave up 38 to this offense last year.

Tavius Robinson got home for a sack, Travis Jones showed up in the run game early, and Young made his NFL debut.

Ellison’s postgame read was that the defense got consistent pressure and closed the game strong. Russell Street Report, watching the same fourth quarter, wrote that the four-man rush was not closing this game out. Baltimore won this game in the first half, with two takeaways and a 28-6 lead. Indianapolis was still moving it late, and Jones found Tyler Warren for a score to make it 38-23.

Despite that late Warren score, the Ravens did a strong job of largely taking him out of the game.

Doyle’s Debut As OC

The Week 1 preview spent a long section on Doyle against Lou Anarumo. When he was with the Bengals, Anarumo ranked fourth in Quarters usage behind a blitz and third in two-high rate when blitzing, which is the call that punishes a young play-caller whose hot routes rest on a pre-snap read that turns out to be a lie. The prescription was play-action from under center with Henry as the threat.

Baltimore gained better than 500 yards. Doyle kept generating different looks and reshaped the plan on the fly once Flowers and Lane went out. Chase Daniel watched Jackson go 10-of-13 for 214 and a score and called Doyle and Jackson a perfect match. Leaning on Henry in the fourth to move the sticks and bleed six minutes off the clock is the unglamorous half of the job, and he did that too.

Nice debut for the OC.

The Line

PFF had this line 24th in the league going in. Indianapolis’ entire defensive plan, per Stampede Blue’s preview, was to win the pressure battle with four rushers – DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart against a shaky interior and a center making his first career NFL start – without needing Anarumo to dial up anything exotic. Jovaughn Gwyn got that start, Jackson was not sacked into oblivion, and Henry ran for 144.

The details are worse. Ten penalties for 86 yards. A holding call wiped out a touchdown inside the five, and Baltimore then failed on fourth-and-goal from the three when Jackson threw incomplete. Andrews had a false start on the goal line on the opening drive. SI’s Ravens site called the line penalty-happy and shaky in spots in protection.

You can absorb ten flags when you’re moving the ball on a team that can’t answer. For contrast: New Orleans played a clean game in Detroit, six penalties for 53 yards, and lost by a point.

Danny Pinter is out for the season. Emery Jones Jr. was a healthy scratch, with Andrew Vorhees and Carson Vinson dressed as the interior depth instead.

Thoughts One Week In

We expected the road Week 1 win.  We were a bit apprehensive going in that this game could be tighter than expected. That apprehension wasn’t lessened after the Colts initial drive. It was fun seeing the Ravens immediately answer and grab control of the game.

The Colts are a middling team, even if they end up competing in the AFC South. Not a horrible team, but a team that doesn’t scare you if you are true contender.

The Ravens are a superior group, and it was good to see them avoid a stumble out of the gate.

Lots of talk Nationally about how easy the Ravens early schedule is. Everyone is expecting the Ravens to get out to a quick start.

The biggest notes from today are that Jackson was moving well, Father Time still hasn’t come for Henry, and we will find out what the injury statuses of Flowers and Lane are.

Nnamdi Madubuike did not play – he was inactive with the neck, along with Teddye Buchanan’s knee. Flowers played and was excellent until the hamstring. Tyler Loop went 2-for-2 with a 57-yarder to end the first half and a 45-yarder to close it out, ten months after the 44-yarder in Pittsburgh that ended last season.

What does the defense look like with Madubuike and Buchanan back?  What is their production level and snap count availability when they return? Presumably / hopefully their play improves as the season progresses and they get their feet back under them.

The center job belongs to Gwyn to start the year. The expectation remains that Ethan Pocic will take over as he rebuilds his lower body strength from the Achilles injury. Gwyn drew Buckner and Grover Stewart in his NFL debut at the position and Baltimore gained better than 500 yards.

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Week 2: Saints at Ravens

Sunday, September 20th, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS, M&T Bank Stadium. Ravens -7.5, total 46.5. ESPN’s Match-Up Predictor gives Baltimore a 76.2% chance to win.

This is the first Ravens home opener without John Harbaugh on the sideline since 2007.

Kellen Moore’s Offense, Year 2

New Orleans lost 31-30 in overtime at Detroit, as they were unable to convert a 2 point conversion attempt for the win.

The Saints were down 21-0 midway through the third quarter and looked finished. Tyler Shough threw two interceptions – one to Derrick Barnes, one to Chuck Clark – and then, per the Detroit News’ live coverage, was sacked by Barnes and strip-sacked by a blitzing Roger McCreary on the very next play. Detroit scored off both turnovers.

Then they scored 24 unanswered. Shough hit Chris Olave for 47 to flip the field and Kendre Miller punched in an eight-yard touchdown. Devaughn Vele caught a one-yard score set up by a pass interference call. A 28-yard field goal made it a one-score game. Then Olave made a contested 43-yard grab and Shough found Juwan Johnson for nine in the back of the end zone to tie it at 24 with just over a minute left. Detroit scored a touchdown in overtime, New Orleans answered with one of its own, and came up a point short on the conversion.

New Orleans outgained Detroit 469 to 369 and had 29 first downs to 26. They converted 8 of 17 on third down and went 2-for-2 on fourth. They scored in four of five red zone trips. They lost because they turned it over three times to Detroit’s one, and because Detroit ran it 33 times for 165 and held the ball for nearly 37 minutes.

Detroit played Sunday without Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph, both on IR for at least four weeks. Canal Street Chronicles said before the game that exploiting that group was New Orleans’ path to a win, and the Saints did exactly that.

Shough threw for 410 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions and was sacked five times, and Detroit’s front had turned him into a statue for the first two and a half quarters.

Bill Barnwell split it live at the opening play of the third quarter and the two halves barely look like the same player: 10-of-22 for 85 yards with two picks before, 19-of-25 for 234 with two touchdowns after, and he kept going from there to 410.

The Schultz Report noted that on the tying drive Shough stood in knowing Aidan Hutchinson was arriving, took the hit, and put the ball on Olave downfield anyway. Juwan Johnson scored on the next play. Whatever the pressure-to-sack number says, that is not a quarterback who folds when he’s hit.

The rest of it confirms what we already published about him. We said Shough had the league’s worst pressure-to-sack ratio last year and that it was a real ceiling on a quarterback who otherwise showed enough. When Detroit got to him, the ball came out late or not at all, and it cost New Orleans 14 points inside four minutes. When he was clean, he found Olave 10 times for 182 yards and brought them back from three scores down on the road against a playoff team.

New Orleans Is Short-Handed Too

The defensive line was down three bodies, not one. Cameron Jordan was inactive with a hamstring – the 37-year-old led the Saints with 10.5 sacks last season and holds the franchise record at 132 – and so were John Ridgeway and Khristian Boyd. Bryan Bresee is already gone for the year. Our Saints preview said New Orleans had no depth in the trenches and leaned on Chase Young as the pass-rush story. Sunday they played Davon Godchaux, Vernon Broughton, Nathan Shepherd and Colby Wooden inside and got one sack out of the whole front.

Kamara practiced and still didn’t dress. We wrote in early September that Travis Etienne was carrying it alone with Alvin Kamara out at least a month on the MCL. Kamara did practice the Wednesday before Week 1, his first work since August 18th, which had people talking about a quick return – but he was on the inactive list Sunday. Maybe he’s active at M&T Bank Stadium, but if so, he’s probably on a pitch count.

The run game didn’t get going vs. Detroit. New Orleans ran it 25 times for 91 yards, 3.6 a carry. Etienne was the only one moving it – 9 for 46, a 5.1 average, plus seven catches while Kendre Miller went 8 for 28.

Jordyn Tyson is still on IR with the hamstring, so the No. 8 overall pick remains unavailable. New Orleans’ initial Week 1 depth chart listed three wide receivers – Olave, Vele and rookie Bryce Lance – alongside three tight ends.

Brandon Staley’s defense finished ninth in total defense in 2025. It is Year 2 in the system and New Orleans drafted Christen Miller specifically to shore up the interior against the run.

It just didn’t get home. One sack, by Carl Granderson. Chase Young – coming off 10 sacks in 12 games –  had no tackles, one quarterback hit and one pass breakup. Detroit got five going the other way.

Detroit finished with 33 carries for 165 yards at 5.0 a pop and held the ball for 36:51. Gibbs alone went 29 for 156 and two scores.

What Baltimore Has To Take Away

The underneath throw, again. Indianapolis moved the ball on Minter’s defense in Week 1 doing exactly what Shough does best – short, quick, rhythm passing that never asks the quarterback to hold it. Moore’s offense is built on the same principle, and New Orleans just picked up 19 first downs through the air in Detroit on 86 total plays. If Baltimore plays two-high, rushes four and lets the Saints complete six-yard throws all afternoon, they could put together long drives and keep this game competitive.

You want to see the Ravens be able to get to Shough. Malaki Starks had career sack number 1 today.  Tavius Robinson had a sack today, and several other pressures.

Would like to see Trey Hendrickson and Mike Green get on the board vs. New Orleans.

Ravens Availability

Madubuike is the headline. Minter said Friday he was “really, really close” to his debut, and both he and Madubuike framed the absence as a conditioning ramp-up rather than a neck concern. SI reported there’s a real chance he plays against New Orleans. If he does, expect a snap count rather than a full workload from a man who took zero 11-on-11 reps in camp.

Teddye Buchanan was ruled out with the knee and is also pointed at a Week 2 return.

Zay Flowers and Ja’Kobi Lane are the concerns going the other direction, and Minter gave no update on either. What he did say, per Jeff Zrebiec, is that Baltimore may have to do some things to get that receiver room ready for Week 2.

Given the importance of Flowers to this team, you’d think they’d probably plan to give him the week off. They can’t risk it becoming something more significant.

I’d expect Rookie Elijah Sarratt to be active in Week 2.  Will have to see where Devontez Walker is with his groin and ankle issues.

Rookie TE Matthew Hibner had his first career catch today. Maybe he gets more action.

Moore is going to be active and his 53 yard grab today will earn him additional WR snaps.

Humphrey left briefly in the fourth quarter with what looked like a right leg injury, but did return. T.J. Tampa Jr. did not return after hurting his knee in the first quarter.

Chandler Rivers and Emery Jones Jr. were healthy scratches. Keyon Martin was the backup nickel and made a tackle.

Matchups To Watch

Does Madubuike play, and if he does, how many snaps?

Is pressure enough, or does Baltimore need sacks? Detroit pressured Shough all day, got five sacks and two picks, and he still threw for 410 and nearly won it. Baltimore’s four-man rush didn’t finish the Colts in the fourth quarter.

Who covers Chris Olave? Ten catches for 182 yards against Detroit, including a 47-yarder and a contested 43. Nate Wiggins against a receiver on a $132 million deal is the best individual matchup on the field, assuming Baltimore has its corners.

Can Baltimore stop the run? Taylor went for 98 and two scores.. Etienne at 5.1 a carry behind a lesser line is a softer test.

Does Doyle scheme around a depleted receiver room, or lean on Henry until it stops working? Sunday’s second half was improvisation. The Saints let Detroit run 33 times for 165.

Our Call

The Saints are better than their record will look in October. Down 21-0 at Ford Field, they tied it with a minute left and lost by a point in overtime. Our preseason read was 8-9 and the over on 7.5, and if anything Sunday firmed that up.

Saints were at Detroit today, and will again be facing a team in their home opener.

Not going to feel great if Flowers and Lane aren’t available; but would still expect a Ravens win at home.

Let’s see if the Ravens clean up the penalties that plagued them in Week 1.

Let’s see if Bateman can get going.

Let’s see if the Ravens can generate a consistent pass rush, and show improvement with the rush defense.

Give New Orleans respect for not folding today in Detroit.  Note their yardage vs. the Lions, and that their three turnovers is what really doomed them today.

If the Ravens can’t turn the Saints over, or get to Shough; does this end up being a bit of a shootout?

I’m going to say no.

With or without Flowers, I don’t think the Saints will be able to really slow Henry and Jackson.
And if they do overload the box, that will create 1×1 opportunities for Jackson to take advantage of with whatever receivers he has available.

I’m still a bit wary about the Ravens overall skill position talent and depth; but today was my reminder that as long Jackson and Henry are available – this offense will remain productive.

Ravens 31, Saints 20. Baltimore wins and covers. Take the over on 46.5.