The Ravens have spent too much time in recent years letting good starts turn into bad endings. On Sunday in Indianapolis, that script finally looked different.
Baltimore rolled to a 41-23 road win over the Colts and, more importantly, finished it the right way. That mattered for a team that has been branded far too often as one that can’t close, can’t hold leads and can’t make the decisive play when the game tightens up.
This was not one of those afternoons. The Ravens jumped out early, controlled the game and kept pressing even when the flow of the matchup changed.
When injuries hit the wide receiver group, with Zay Flowers and standout rookie Ja’Kobi Lane both out by midway through the third quarter, the offense didn’t back off. First-year offensive coordinator Declan Doyle stayed aggressive, kept leaning on Derrick Henry and the run game, and found ways to involve reserve pass catchers.
One of the biggest swings came on a 53-yard connection to Chris Moore that helped ignite the sixth scoring drive of the game early in the fourth quarter. Baltimore then put the game away with a seven-touchdown?
No - with its seventh and final scoring drive, a possession that burned more than six minutes and ended with Tyler Loop’s second field goal of the day to push the lead to 18 points. At that stage, the Colts were running out of clock and answers.
The defense matched the tone. Jesse Minter was willing to give up some rushing yards once the Ravens built a comfortable margin, but he never eased up on Daniel Jones.
Jones was pressured on 18 of his 34 dropbacks, the most of any quarterback in Week 1 according to NextGenStats. Even with less than four minutes left and Baltimore ahead by three scores, Minter kept his foot down, sending both starting safeties on a fourth-down blitz that produced Malaki Starks’ first career sack and a turnover on downs.
"You talk about being finishers and closers," Minter said. "That's obviously stuff we spend a lot of time on, and defensively, I thought we did a great job there.
The guys wanted to run the call that we ran on fourth down. So, that was really cool to see them like, 'Hey, let's run this, let's get it.'
"Then on offense, just to be able to grind that thing out, I thought the O-line really took over - Derrick [Henry], obviously, and just all the guys, Lamar [Jackson] just running the operation. Anytime you can end the game with the ball and a six-minute drive with a big lead like that, it's really cool."
That emphasis has been a calling card for Minter since he was introduced as Harbaugh’s successor and the franchise’s fourth head coach on January 29, 2026. His message has been simple: "Being at our best when our best is required."
For one Sunday at least, the Ravens looked like a team buying into it. Jackson said the finish felt especially meaningful because of what had happened a year ago in a similar situation.
"I feel like that just boosted up our whole team chemistry-wise, our momentum [and] our mindset approaching games, because last year, we kind of had a similar [situation with] the same [type of] lead around that time, and we lost the game," Jackson said. "We had it right there in [our] grasp, and we ended up losing that game. So, just to see our guys prevail through all that and finish the game strong - because those guys did have a momentum shift at the end - and we just prevailed."
In Other News...
Ravens Rookie Receiver Suddenly Leaves Baltimore Facing An Early Test
The Ravens have already hit a delicate early-season snag with rookie receiver Ja'Kobi Lane, who landed on injured reserve after a wrist injury and is now set to miss at least the first four weeks of the season. Surgery was done to help the healing process, and the timing means Baltimore will have to move ahead without one of its young pass-catching options right away.
Lane is not eligible to play in Weeks 2 through 5, which leaves the Ravens waiting for a possible return around Week 6 or soon after. For a team trying to settle its offensive rhythm in September, the setback adds an early layer of uncertainty around a rookie whose availability had been part of the plan. [Read more 🡒]
Emery Jones Week 1 Scratch Says Plenty About His Ravens Role
The Ravens Week 1 decision on Emery Jones Jr. offered an early glimpse into where he stands in the offensive line pecking order. Baltimore chose not to activate the rookie for the opener and leaned on Andrew Vorhees as the backup guard, a move that suggests the staff is prioritizing the more established option while Jones continues to work his way forward.
Jones still brings the kind of versatility that can make him useful down the road, and offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford has talked about him as a player with future value. For now, though, the path is clear enough: Vorhees is ahead of him, and Jones has yet to earn a larger role as the 2026 season gets going. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Defense Suddenly Has A Week 2 Problem To Solve
Alvin Kamara looks set to be back in the lineup for the Saints in Week 2, and that changes the picture for a Ravens defense that spent the opener preparing without him in the equation. New Orleans held Kamara out in Week 1 because of limited practice time, but his return gives the Saints a much more familiar engine in both the run game and underneath passing concepts.
For Baltimore, the concern is not just Kamara's production on the ground, but how his presence can reshape the entire offensive approach. His involvement could trim Travis Etienne Jr.'s role and push the Saints toward a different look on passing downs, which means the Ravens' defense will have to adjust quickly to a matchup that suddenly looks a lot less predictable. [Read more 🡒]