From The Banner · Baltimore Banner Staff · · 2m
Ravens open the Minter era with 41 points
Baltimore rolled up 506 yards in Indianapolis and made a new coaching staff look like a finished product.
In brief
Baltimore rolled up 506 yards in Indianapolis and made a new coaching staff look like a finished product. The Ravens won big without a healthy receiver room or a sack from Trey Hendrickson, which says more about their ceiling than the 41-23 score does. Originally reported by The Banner.
A statement in Indianapolis
Baltimore beat the Colts 41-23 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Jesse Minter's first game as head coach. The 41 points matched the team's high from all of last season.
“The Ravens didn't need long Sunday to show the Indianapolis Colts, and the NFL, what they're capable of.”
Lamar was surgical
Jackson went 17-for-25 for 324 yards and a touchdown, adding 43 on the ground. The offense finished with 506 total yards.
Henry ran for three scores
Derrick Henry carried 24 times for 144 yards and three touchdowns, thriving in Declan Doyle's under-center attack. He scored from 4 yards and 32 yards in the second quarter.
Flowers exploded, then exited
Zay Flowers caught five balls for a career-high 150 yards and a touchdown, including a 54-yard catch-and-run. He left late in the second quarter with the hamstring that bugged him in camp.
Four scores in five drives
Baltimore found the end zone on four of its first five possessions and nearly a fifth, stopped by a blown block on a fourth-down call.
“Flowers and Henry were at the tip of the spear.”
The defense took the ball away
Two first-half turnovers, including a Roquan Smith interception, and the Colts converted just three of 10 third downs. Smith added a game-high 11 tackles.
Not everything was clean
The run defense gave up 102 yards, the penalty count hit 10 (more than any game last year), and Ja'Kobi Lane and T.J. Tampa joined Flowers on the injury list.
The staff passed its first test
Jonathan Taylor's opening touchdown sliced through the new defense. Minter adjusted and his unit owned the rest of the half, while Doyle fed Lajohntay Wester, Chris Moore and the tight ends after the receivers went down.
Henry is climbing the list
At almost 33, Henry now sits third all time in career rushing touchdowns, behind only Emmitt Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson. The Ravens finally have coaches willing to ride his carries.
“It's a blessing to have a back as durable, hard-nosed and quick-footed as Henry in the backfield”
The ceiling is the story
If the line improves, Nnamdi Madubuike contributes and Flowers heals up, Week 1 looks like a floor rather than a peak.
“the Ravens' potential is best-in-the-NFL good”
In short
The Ravens won big without a healthy receiver room or a sack from Trey Hendrickson, which says more about their ceiling than the 41-23 score does.
