The New Orleans Saints walk into M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday with a Baltimore Ravens team that already looks different under Jesse Minter. Baltimore opened the 2026 regular season with a 41-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts, and Nikhil Mehta of Baltimore Beatdown pointed to one major shift right away: the Ravens didn’t fade.
That matters because Baltimore’s problems last season were easy to spot. The offense often stumbled early, and the defense had a habit of letting leads slip away late.
Mehta said neither issue showed up in Minter’s debut. After Indianapolis jumped on the Ravens’ defense with a pass-heavy opening stretch, Baltimore answered with an explosive play to Zay Flowers and quick runs from Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson to get on the board.
That push helped the Ravens build an 18-point halftime lead. When the Colts cut into it after the break, Mehta said the Ravens didn’t drift the way John Harbaugh’s teams sometimes had in similar spots.
Instead, Minter and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle kept the pressure on for all 60 minutes.
Baltimore may not be at full strength on Sunday, though. Mehta said as many as four Week 1 starters could be out against the Saints.
Flowers has been dealing with a hamstring issue for weeks and sat out Wednesday and Thursday practice. Trey Hendrickson, Ronnie Stanley, and John Simpson were also DNPs on both days, which could leave Baltimore thin in the trenches.
Hendrickson was highly effective in Week 1, but Mehta noted the Ravens’ edge depth and the possible return of Nnamdi Madubuike should help soften that blow. The offensive line is the bigger concern.
Carson Vinson would likely start at left tackle for Stanley, while Andrew Vorhees would step in at left guard for Simpson, and Mehta called the Vinson-Chase Young matchup a potential problem.
There are openings for New Orleans if Baltimore shows the same tendencies it did against Indianapolis. Mehta said Minter is deeply invested in film study and in breaking down opposing protections and tendencies, but Colts coach Shane Steichen used that against him in Week 1.
Indianapolis opened with seven straight passes and got Baltimore leaning the wrong way before turning to Jonathan Taylor in the red zone. Mehta and Roquan Smith both said after the game they expected the Colts to run early, and that false read helped Indianapolis stay ahead of the defense’s expectations.
The Saints could also catch Baltimore at the right moment offensively if Flowers is unavailable. Mehta said the Ravens’ passing game cooled when Flowers went out, and with rookie standout Ja’Kobi Lane also sidelined by a fractured wrist, the receiver room looks thinner than usual. Rashod Bateman, who posted career-lows in 2025 and was shut out in Week 1, would be under the most pressure to function as the WR1 if Flowers can’t go.
One player Mehta singled out for Saints fans to watch is outside linebacker Tavius Robinson. He had four quarterback hits and a sack in Week 1 while leading his position group in snaps.
A 2023 fourth-round pick, Robinson is in a contract year, and Mehta said Baltimore’s recent investments in Trey Hendrickson, Mike Green, and Zion Young make a long-term return unlikely. Even so, Robinson has drawn strong praise inside the building, and his 6-foot-6 frame has already helped him set the edge against the run.
Against the Colts, he showed the kind of athleticism that lets him contain and chase down the quarterback, and Mehta said if the Ravens force Shough to move on Sunday, Robinson is likely to be the one pursuing him.
As for the betting line, FanDuel Sportsbook has Baltimore as an 8.5-point favorite at -420, with New Orleans at +330. Mehta still likes the Ravens, even with the injuries.
He said Baltimore looked like it was just getting started in Week 1, while the Saints are harder to evaluate in the second year of the Kellen Moore/Tyler Shough era. He also said this would have looked like a classic trap game in the Harbaugh years, but that Minter and his staff are less likely to lose focus.
His prediction: Ravens 31, Saints 20, with the game feeling closer than the final score.
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Scott Daly was signed to the practice squad to handle the long-snapping duties, which frees the Saints to keep Donaldson in the building with a more prominent role. For a rookie who arrived without draft-day fanfare, the move at least suggests the team sees enough in him to keep him close as they sort out the backfield and decide how much responsibility he can handle going forward. [Read more 🡒]