Man, this really is the worst part of the regular season.

The roster is set at the start of the month and you start to envision how each unit is going to come together. You get the veteran in Zay Flowers signing a massive contract extension, then you get the young camp star in Ja’Kobi Lane who actually backed up the hype and played well in the preseason.

Fast forward a whole one game and both are hurt. Now the Ravens are in a bit of a pickle at wide receiver.

Let’s break down what comes next and what it means for the offense.

Do the Ravens Roll the Dice with Zay Flowers?

The good news on Zay Flowers is that the hamstring injury doesn’t appear to be anything serious. Jesse Minter called him day-to-day on Monday and said, “I feel pretty good about where that’s at. We’ll see how the week goes though.”

The bigger question is whether the Ravens even need to push it this week. Flowers already dealt with this hamstring during training camp, missed roughly two weeks, came back and immediately went nuclear against Indianapolis with five catches for 150 yards and a touchdown in the first half.

With New Orleans coming to Baltimore, this feels like a spot where the Ravens can afford to be careful. If Zay is 100%, great. If he’s not, get the hamstring right and live to fight another day. We saw Sunday exactly how important he is to this offense.

The big question becomes - who fills that spot? Does Rashod Bateman step up into the #1 roll? Does Lajohntay Wester step into the slot roll and see more run? Does Elijah Sarratt get active? There’s a ton of question marks.

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After weeks and weeks of filling your inboxes with Opening Drives that were based purely on speculation, or at best on what we were hearing out of training camp practices (and yes, seeing in preseason games), we finally have real game tape to break down at long last. With that in mind, I wanted to make today’s newsletter all about what I saw when watching through the All 22 footage of the Ravens dominant win over the Colts.

Below you’ll find a few observations of mine from the tale of the tape, and what I liked about them, or what I think it might mean for team going forward. Without any further ado, let’s get into it:

Lamar Looks Like His Old Self… Or Better

While it’s a bit obvious to point out that Lamar played well in this game, I really can’t emphasize it enough: he played really, really damn well. He’s had better statistical outings, and I’m sure there may be some others to mention in the pantheon of his all time performances, but what really stood out to me was just how in command he looks entering his ninth NFL season.

This is both in a sense of how comfortable he looked operating the offense, as well as attempting to do things he never would have as a younger, less experienced player. It’s well illustrated by two of his (what I like to call) “shortstop throws” i.e., those of the off-balance, unconventional variety.

The first one I’'ll highlight below is actually well within the design of the play, but is certainly a shortstop throw. This is because of how easy he makes the difficult task of maintaining his footwork, executing two different ball fakes, and completing a jump pass to a moving Derrick Henry with two defenders in his face:

The second throw I’ll highlight is a completion to Rashod Bateman that was ultimately called back via penalty, but deserves some love due to the sheer #ArmArrogance on display:

While it’s enough that he was able to sidestep #95 (who draws the penalty on Ioane), having the pocket presence to step up, and fire a dart across the field to where only a barely open Bateman could grab it is eye popping stuff. There’s certainly plenty to comb through if you want more to illustrate Lamar’s huge day, but my main takeaway from his performance is how he appears to have ascended to a level of mastery that can only come from years and years of high level experience… and this was, of course, his first game in a new offensive system. Exciting times are ahead.

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My god, I missed this. That was just a fun Sunday.

We spent all offseason talking about what the Ravens could look like with Jesse Minter running the show and Declan Doyle calling the offense. We got our first real look on Sunday and, offensively at least, I don’t know how you could’ve asked for much more.

The Ravens put up 41 points and 506 yards. Lamar Jackson threw for 324 yards. Derrick Henry ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns. Zay Flowers was uncoverable before leaving with a hamstring injury.

There were things I didn’t love. The pass protection made me a little nervous early, the injuries fucking suck, and there’s definitely some stuff we’re going to want to look at when we get into the All-22.

But it’s Week 1. The Ravens went on the road, hung 41 points on the Colts and Jesse Minter is 1-0. And hell, Tyler Loop went 2/2, one of which was from deep!

I’ll take it.

Let’s get into the Game Notes.

Offense

• What a vintage Lamar Jackson performance. He finished the day 17/25 for an insane 324 yards and 1 TD. He added another 40 yards and a score on the ground. That equates to an absurd 13 yards per attempt with a ridiculous 10.9 ADOT. No throw was better than the bomb to Chris Moore (YES! That Chris Moore!)

• The pass chart is just absolute chefs kiss. The entire football field was attacked and that’s exactly what to expect from Declan Doyle. It wasn’t a ton of volume, but it was efficient and that is when Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are at their best.

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What’s up my fellow sickos and sickettes? Every week we will be posting plays prior to kickoff. This week?

The free play I will give is DeVonta Smith longest reception o23.5 yards. Smith should see a career high in targets and usage, where he’s shown to be a complete receiver with downfield game. The Commanders secondary, which has been abysmal over the years, needs to prove me wrong here.

The rest of the plays are beneath the paywall! Enjoy!

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We’ve spent the entire offseason talking about what this version of the Baltimore Ravens could look like. New head coach. New systems on both sides of the football. New faces. New expectations. None of it matters anymore.

At 1:00 on Sunday, we finally get some answers.

The Ravens open the 2026 season on the road against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Lamar Jackson begins another run at a championship, Jesse Minter coaches his first regular-season game as the Ravens head coach, and Baltimore gets an immediate test against Jonathan Taylor, Daniel Jones and a Colts offense that gave Minter’s defense all kinds of problems a year ago.

We’ve broken down this matchup from just about every angle this week. Now it’s gameday.

Here’s your Opening Drive.

Gameday Details

Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts
Sunday, September 13
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. ET
Stadium: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
TV: CBS
Streaming: Paramount+

Head Referee: Scott Novak

Gameday Weather

This one is at Lucas Oil Stadium, so weather shouldn’t become much of a factor once the ball is kicked off.

The forecast in Indianapolis calls for temperatures around 82–83°F at kickoff, with relatively light winds and little threat of significant rain.

More importantly: Lucas Oil Stadium has a retractable roof, so it isn’t going to matter and this is a good thing for Tyler Loop and building up his confidence.

Betting Lines

The Ravens enter Sunday as 3.5-point road favourites.

Spread: Ravens -3.5
Moneyline: Ravens approximately -178
Colts Moneyline: approximately +150
Over/Under: 47.5

There’s been a little movement here.

Baltimore opened around -3.5 at FanDuel, while some markets had the Ravens as high as -4.5 earlier in the process. The total has also come down, with FanDuel’s opening number of 48.5 dropping to 47.5.

Vegas expects Baltimore to win.

But this isn’t being priced like a walkover.

Tune back in for Spenny & the Bets for gameday best bets.

Injury Report

The Ravens enter Week 1 relatively healthy, but they’re going to be without one major piece of Jesse Minter’s defense.

Ravens

OUT — Nnamdi Madubuike, DT (neck)
Madubuike practiced in a limited capacity throughout the week as he continues working his way back from the neck injury that ended his 2025 season. He’s getting close, but Week 1 comes a little too early.

OUT — Teddye Buchanan, LB (knee)
Buchanan was also limited throughout the week but won’t play as he continues his recovery from last year’s knee injury.

QUESTIONABLE — Devontez Walker, WR (groin)
Walker was limited Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It’s notable that the Ravens called up Chris Moore from the pratice squad, which tells me Tez likely isn’t playing and that it’s possible Elijah Sarratt is also going to be a healthy scratch.

Colts

Indianapolis enters Sunday in very good shape.

QUESTIONABLE — Austin Ajiake, LB (hamstring)

That’s it.

Alec Pierce was limited throughout the week with a heel injury but carries no game designation. Safety A.J. Haulcy also worked his way from limited participation Wednesday to full practices Thursday and Friday and is cleared to play.

Here’s How the Ravens Win

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The wait is almost over.

We are officially inside 48 hours until the Ravens kick off the 2026 season in Indianapolis, and Friday gave us our final batch of news before Jesse Minter coaches his first real game in Baltimore.

We got an answer on Nnamdi Madubuike. We got the final injury report. And over in Indianapolis, the Colts are heading into week 1 pretty damn healthy.

Let’s get into it.

Nnamdi Madubuike Won’t Play

We finally have an answer on Nnamdi Madubuike.

He won’t play Sunday against the Colts. It’s a letdown, but not necessarily a surprise.

Jesse Minter confirmed Friday that the Ravens are going to give Madubuike at least one more week as he works his way back from the neck injury that ended his 2025 season after just two games.

The good news is that it sounds like he’s damn close.

“He is really, really close.”

Madubuike returned to team drills last week and has been ramping things up since. He’s taking contact, working against double teams and getting pass-rush reps. Minter said Friday that the Ravens feel “great” about where he is physically.

They just aren’t going to push it.

And honestly, why would they?

This is a guy coming back from a neck injury that cost him basically all of last season. The Ravens kept him off IR when they set the 53, so they clearly thought there was a chance he’d be back early in the season. Week 1 was just a little too soon.

So Baltimore will go into Indianapolis without its best interior defensive lineman.

Travis Jones, Calais Campbell and Broderick Washington will handle most of the work inside, with John Jenkins and rookie Aeneas Peebles also in the mix.

The biggest concern is how much the Colts want to push the ball to the edge with inside and outside zone concepts. We know what Jones and Campbell can do, but Madubuike’s lateral quickness would have been a big boost in this matchup.

This is a big spot for Washington to show he can be a run stopper, and if Peebles gets a look, he certainly has the athletic skillset to help counter what the Colts want to do on the ground.

Latest Podcasts:

• Ravens @ Colts Week 1 Preview

• 2026 NFL Season Predictions

• Cordell Woodland on Ravens Camp + Regular Season Expectations

• 53 Man Roster Breakdown

• VIDEO PODCAST: Kyle Youmans Joins the Baltimore Film Breakdown Podcast

Latest Articles:

• The Opening Drive, Week 1: Know Your Enemy

• The Opening Drive, 9/10: Lamar has ‘Madden Vision’, Injury Report, A Quick Look at Indy

• The Opening Drive, 9/9: Week 1 Thoughts - The Ravens will go as far as their pass rush takes them

Latest Film Rooms:

• FILM ROOM: How the Colts Attacked Jesse Minter’s Defense in 2025

• FILM ROOM: Adam Randall Gives the Ravens Something Different at Running Back

• FILM ROOM: How Joe Fagnano Made the Final 53 Man Roster

The Ravens Final Injury Report

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Week 1 in the NFL is here, and the Ravens will be lining it up this Sunday across from a very familiar foe in the Indianapolis Colts. For today’s Opening Drive, I wanted to do something a bit different: take a brief look at the Ravens history with their opponent in video format.

As we all probably know, the Ravens and Colts have a long and complicated history with each other - one that dates all the way back to the origins of pro football in Baltimore, that began in the 1940’s. That history was put on life support in the 80’s when the Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis, but returned with a force in 1996 when the Ravens replaced them as Baltimore’s new team.

Since then, it’s been back and forths between Peyton Manning and Ray Lewis, playoff matchups vs. Andrew Luck, instant classics in the Lamar Jackson era, and more. I dive into it all in the video below, so give it a watch, and tell me what you’re looking forward to for this Sunday in the comments down below!

Baltimore Film Breakdown will return soon with more fresh content.

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Lamar Jackson has ‘Madden Vision’

Robert Mays, host of The Athletic Football Show, described how the Ravens want Lamar Jackson to be quicker early in pass downs, despite his super power to create second throwing windows by extending a play, or holding on longer.

I find this to be nice in theory. Having an on time quick pass game can help to thwart a pass rush, particularly as the Ravens had three new starters inside. Much has been made of Lamar Jackson’s footwork changes under Declan Doyle this offseason, but those changes are to chase the result of attacking a defense faster in a pass down. Being more throw ready both physically and in terms of timing. The best offense is every offense, and getting the Ravens into a more structurally efficient place in the quick timing/West Coast Offense sense will help them against overwhelming pass rushes later on. Jackson has been particularly interception/turnover averse throughout his career, and to operate a quick timing pass game, you might not get to ensure the safety of the football. However, these are necessary growing pains in order to have a more complete offense.

This is an interesting thought experiment on paper, however, Jackson has still operated extremely well when getting the ball out quick. To say it’s not something he’s done before is obtuse, as Jackson lead the NFL in both yards per attempt (8.4) and completion percentage (82.4% in 2024 when getting the ball out in 2.5s or less, per PFF. If I had to guess, that’s Doyle’s overarching thought. Leaning on more quick passing alleviates pressure on the Ravens offensive line, protects Jackson from hits as he enters his 30’s, and simply adds another club to the bag.

The first injury report tells us who is actually ready

Baltimore released its first injury report of the season Wednesday, and the headline is mostly good news: every player on the 53-man roster practiced, with four limited.

Zay Flowers (hamstring) was one of them, but he waved off the worry himself. “I feel great. I feel better than ever,” he told reporters, adding that he hopes to be a full participant over the last two practices. The strain traces to the Minnesota joint sessions in August, and Baltimore has slow-played it on purpose. He is expected to play Sunday. The one thing we are watching to the wire: hamstrings on a receiver whose entire game is burst and sudden change of direction are never fully in the clear until he is cutting at full speed in a game.

Nnamdi Madubuike (neck) is the name to temper expectations on. He was limited, has been hitting the sled hard, and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said he “looks fantastic,” but he has not played since Week 2 of last season and the ramp has been deliberately slow. Minter is not ruling him out. Most around the team are quietly operating as if he does not suit up in Indianapolis, and there is no reason to rush a player back from a neck surgery for a Week 1 road game.

Two more were limited: rookie linebacker Teddye Buchanan (knee), working back from a December ACL, and receiver Devontez Walker (groin), a newer issue the team is calling minor. Nobody has been ruled out yet. Friday’s designations will tell the real story.

Game week: what Baltimore is walking into

This is not a tune-up opener. Indianapolis was one of the hottest teams in football through the middle of last season before injuries pulled it apart, and the pieces that made it dangerous are back on the field.

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Pass rush wins championships. That’s why the Rams, despite having one of the top young pass-rushers in the sport, traded him away and top draft picks to bring in superstar edge Myles Garrett. Pass rush is also why the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl last year. They barraged Patriots quarterback Drake Maye to the tune of six sacks and a whopping 23 pressures.

Last year, with the Baltimore Ravens season on the line, they mustered only two sacks and 10 pressures on 52 Aaron Rodgers drop backs. With their season on the line, they couldn’t get pressure. Old man Rodgers was 2/10 when pressured, but 29/39 when kept clean. Their lack of pass-rush was a key component in sending them off to Cancun in each of the last two seasons. Baltimore mustered up only seven pressured including one sack in Buffalo as they fell to the Bills in the playoffs for the second time this decade.

Enter Trey Hendrickson. The Ravens signed the 31-year-old pass rusher to a franchise record four-year, $112m contract with $60m guaranteed. This is the biggest swing they’ve ever taken in free agency. Hendrickson is coming off his least productive season in years, which saw him skip most of the Cincinnati Bengals training camp as he held out for a trade or new contract. He played in only seven games last year due to injury. He didn’t play in the preseason. We can’t find a picture of him in a Ravens jersey on Getty Images to even post to this article.

On Sunday, when the Ravens open the 2026 season against the Indianapolis Colts, we will find out whether that investment was worthwhile. Hendrickson needs to look the part, fast. He racked up 35 sacks in the two years prior to his holdout saga with the Bengals, leading the league in 2024. What that’s close to what the Ravens get? They will make the postseason. They’ve lacked any true threat on the perimeter for several years now.

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Guys, it’s here. It’s Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.

The projections, the position battles, the narratives, throw it all out the window. On Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens take the field at Lucas Oil Stadium and it is finally live.

Jake, Spenny and I took the weekend off to recharge our batteries, and the Ravens took a break as well. On Monday, Jesse Minter came to the podium and dropped some very interesting comments. Let’s get caught up and let’s get ready for real football.

Jovaughn Gwyn Named the Starting Center

We finally have an answer at center.

Jesse Minter announced Monday that Jovaughn Gwyn will start against the Colts over Ethan Pocic.

At least for Week 1.

Minter was pretty deliberate about that distinction. Gwyn is starting Sunday, but this didn’t sound like the Ravens declaring the competition over for the season.

Obviously, Pocic coming back from the torn Achilles complicated this entire thing. There was only so much of a competition they could actually have when one of the guys spent most of the summer working his way back.

But they had to make a decision for Indianapolis, and it’s Gwyn.

The big question is: Was this the right decision? In short: yes.

Gwyn performed well in the preseason, including getting some run with the 1’s after Danny Pinter went down. He came into camp as a complete unknown with very limited tape, but stacked reps and put together three rock-solid games.

His ability on combination blocks and in zone concepts is a natural fit for Ledford’s zone and duo-dominant run scheme, which highlights why he was so high on the former Falcon. The big question is whether his pass protection can stay consistent over a bigger sample.

Pocic is still working his way back from a serious injury, so this gives Dwayne Ledford and Declan Doyle a chance to see what Gwyn actually has. More importantly, they have an established Plan B. If Gwyn doesn’t cut it, Pocic has been there in the AFC North and can step in — something they didn’t have at guard last year.

Major kudos to Gwyn. I didn’t even think he’d make the final 53, and now he’s the starting center. What a summer for the young lad!

Madubuike and Buchanan Aren't Ruled Out

This was probably the thing that caught my attention most Monday.

We’ve known Nnamdi Madubuike was getting closer. The Ravens keeping both Madubuike and Teddye Buchanan on the initial 53 instead of putting them on IR told us they expected both guys to have a chance to return within the first four weeks.

What I didn’t know was whether Week 1 was actually realistic.

Asked about Madubuike, Minter said:

“He’s been involved more and more just about every day.”

Madubuike is expected to get some team work this week, and when Minter was given the chance to completely shut down the possibility of him playing Sunday, he didn’t.

“I wouldn’t rule any of those guys out for Week 1.”

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(Photo Courtesy: Shawn Hubbard, BaltimoreRavens.Com: https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/zay-flowers-returns-ravens-practice-wide-receiver-injury)

We are officially at the point of the offseason where I’m done talking myself into things. I want to see some football.

Luckily, we’re almost there, and Thursday gave us a couple more reasons to feel pretty damn good about where this Ravens offense is heading into Week 1. Zay Flowers is back on the practice field, Lamar Jackson apparently thinks defenses have no idea what’s coming, and some of the stuff we saw from Declan Doyle during the preseason gives us at least a few clues about what he might be talking about.

So yeah, I’m ready. Let’s get into it.

Zay Flowers Looks Ready For Week 1

This was the one everyone was waiting for.

Zay Flowers was back at practice Thursday for the first time in two weeks after dealing with an undisclosed lower-body injury. He hadn’t practiced since the Vikings joint session on August 20 and was still running off to the side on Wednesday, so getting him back with the team a day later is a great sign. Per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, Devontez Walker was the only Raven who didn’t practice Thursday.

And look, there was never really any indication this was something serious. In fact, if you listen to the Baltimore Collective, Jeff Zrebiec was pretty clear last week that this was being done out of an abundance of caution. But with Week 1 coming up, you wanted to actually see him on the field before completely forgetting about it.

Now we have.

Flowers is the unquestioned No. 1 receiver in this offense, and the Ravens just paid him like it. He’s also a chess piece Declan Doyle can deploy all over the formation, especially if a guy like Ja’Kobi Lane can function in three-receiver sets with Flowers aligned beside him. That opens up all kinds of possibilities with jet motion and pre-snap movement, both to help Lamar Jackson identify coverages and to get defenders moving before the snap. When you pair that with the Ravens’ run game, Flowers becomes a really difficult piece for defenses to account for.

Lamar Jackson Is Pretty Damn Confident in his Offense

Well, Lamar Jackson certainly isn’t trying to lower expectations.

Lamar joined Adam Schein on SiriusXM this week and was asked about the Ravens’ new offense under Declan Doyle. His answer was pretty direct:

“I don’t believe a defense is prepared for what’s in store for them.”

Okay then!

Lamar went on to talk about all the different things the Ravens can do offensively, specifically mentioning the play-action game, dropback passing game and everything they can do on the ground. He also talked about the amount of movement in the offense and how Doyle has stressed everyone knowing what everyone else is doing on every play.

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After a quiet few days following roster cutdowns, Wednesday saw some action from the podium in the form of several press conferences. The most eventful one came in the form of a rare appearance from Eric DeCosta, who had plenty of interesting things to say to the local beat. Let’s break them all down:

Optimism About Lamar’s Contract

It’s an every-few-years occurrence at this point; Lamar Jackson’s contract is nearing it’s end, and he and the Ravens do a dance of negotiations both behind closed doors, and within the media. Lamar’s been extremely savvy in how he’s played this in the past, most notably ahead of the 2023 season, when he got everything he wanted in a deal, save for the fully guaranteed condition he had been pushing for.

And now, just a few years later, we’re back in (almost) the same spot. The Ravens’ quarterback carries a 2026 cap hit of $34.39 million, that balloons up to an untenable $84.34 million figure in 2027. Obviously, the team would like to get a deal done ahead of that cap number becoming official, and we’ve seen multiple cycles of conversation over the last year or so that indicate optimism towards getting a deal done - including ahead of last season.

So, here we are again, entering the 2026 season, needing to get a deal between both sides done. So, take DeCosta’s optimism however you’d like, but it’s worth noting that he did express it:

"I would say I'm optimistic," DeCosta said. "I feel good about it. I really don't like to get into details. I'm not going to talk about it specifically. Lamar and I have a pact, as you all know, I’ve said it probably 50 times – we’re not going to talk about business publicly. We try to compensate our players, our best players, as well as we can. You can look at that from an average standpoint, you can look at that from a guaranteed-money standpoint, a term standpoint, incentives — whatever that is, we try to be fair plus with our players, and I think over time we have proven that for the most part. It is important to us.”

The last time we saw this happen, Lamar set a self-imposed deadline that he wanted to get a deal done ahead of the 2022 season. We’ve heard no such absolutes this time around, but the rigors of regular season football don’t lend themselves well to also negotiating a high profile, big money contract on the side (especially when you, the player, are the one negotiating for yourself). It’s tough to say if we’ll see a deal get done in the less than two weeks we have before Week 1 kickoff, but at the very least, Baltimore’s GM is confident it will get done sometime.

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