Ravens overpower Colts 41-23 as Jackson, Henry dominate season opener

The Baltimore Ravens opened the Jesse Minter era in emphatic fashion Sunday afternoon, defeating the Indianapolis Colts 41-23 at Lucas Oil Stadium behind monster performances from Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers.

Baltimore’s offense looked explosive, balanced and dangerous from its opening possession. The Ravens finished with 506 total yards, averaged 7.9 yards per offensive play and controlled possession for more than 35 minutes. Indianapolis managed just 251 total yards as Baltimore consistently produced explosive plays while preventing the Colts from generating enough of their own.

Jackson completed 17 of 25 passes for 324 yards and a touchdown without throwing an interception. He added 40 yards and another touchdown on seven carries, giving Baltimore 364 total yards of offense from its quarterback alone.

Henry was just as destructive. The 32-year-old carried the ball 24 times for 144 yards and three touchdowns, averaging six yards per attempt and repeatedly punishing Indianapolis once Baltimore established control of the game. Henry’s performance also moved him into third place on the NFL’s career rushing touchdown list.

Flowers provided the explosiveness through the air, catching five passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. His 54-yard score highlighted a Baltimore passing attack that consistently stretched the Indianapolis defense vertically.

For a Ravens team coming off a disappointing 8-9 season in 2025, it was about as encouraging a start to 2026 as Baltimore could have hoped for.

Colts strike first, Ravens immediately answer

Indianapolis opened the scoring with an impressive nine-play, 65-yard drive.

Jonathan Taylor finished the possession with a one-yard touchdown run, giving Indianapolis a 6-0 lead after Spencer Shrader missed the extra point.

Baltimore needed only three plays to answer.

Jackson connected with Flowers for a huge 49-yard gain that immediately flipped field position and demonstrated what would become one of the themes of the afternoon — Indianapolis simply could not prevent Baltimore from creating explosive plays.

Two plays later, Jackson kept the ball and raced five yards into the end zone. Rookie kicker Tyler Loop converted the extra point and Baltimore took a 7-6 advantage.

The Ravens never trailed again.

Baltimore’s defense then helped put the offense into favorable position. The Ravens took over at the Indianapolis 31 and marched six plays before Henry powered across the goal line from four yards out.

Loop’s extra point made it 14-6 with 4:05 remaining in the opening quarter.

Baltimore had absorbed Indianapolis’ opening punch and responded with two consecutive touchdowns.

Jackson and Flowers break the game open

The second quarter belonged almost entirely to Baltimore.

With 7:04 remaining in the half, Jackson found Flowers in the middle of the field. Flowers turned the completion into a 54-yard touchdown, giving Baltimore a 21-6 advantage.

It was the biggest play of what became an outstanding afternoon for Baltimore’s No. 1 receiver.

Flowers finished with 150 yards despite catching just five passes — an incredible average of 30 yards per reception.

The Ravens struck again less than two minutes later.

Henry took a handoff and powered through Indianapolis’ defense for a 32-yard touchdown run. Suddenly, what had been a competitive game early in the first quarter had turned into a 28-6 Baltimore advantage.

Indianapolis briefly responded following a Baltimore turnover.

Taylor scored his second touchdown of the afternoon on a three-yard run with 2:18 remaining before halftime, cutting Baltimore’s lead to 28-13.

Taylor was one of the few consistent bright spots for Indianapolis. He rushed 19 times for 98 yards and two scores, averaging better than five yards per carry.

Baltimore still had enough time to add points before halftime.

Jackson moved the Ravens into range with less than a minute remaining, allowing Loop to attempt a 57-yard field goal as time expired.

Loop drilled it.

The rookie kicker’s successful 57-yarder sent Baltimore into halftime leading 31-13 and provided another encouraging development for a team entering a new era at the position.

Baltimore’s defense keeps Indianapolis under control

The Colts slowed the pace of the game in the third quarter, but they never seriously threatened Baltimore’s lead.

Indianapolis put together a nine-play, 45-yard possession that consumed nearly five minutes before Shrader connected from 58 yards.

The field goal cut Baltimore’s advantage to 31-16.

That was the only scoring play of the third quarter.

Daniel Jones struggled to consistently challenge Baltimore’s defense through the air. Jones completed 19 of 31 passes for 166 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

That translated to just 5.4 yards per passing attempt.

Baltimore’s defense forced two Indianapolis turnovers and repeatedly prevented Jones from producing the explosive plays Indianapolis needed to erase a multi-score deficit.

Roquan Smith came up with one of Baltimore’s most important defensive plays when he tipped a Jones pass into the air and secured the interception himself. Baltimore’s defense also recovered a Colts fumble.

The Ravens did all of that without defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike, who missed the opener because of a neck injury.

Indianapolis finished with just 251 total yards on 53 offensive plays, averaging only 4.7 yards per snap.

For a team beginning its first season under the defensive-minded Minter, holding an opponent to nearly half of Baltimore’s offensive production represented a promising start.

Henry finishes the job

Baltimore entered the fourth quarter leading 31-16 and immediately put together the drive that effectively ended Indianapolis’ hopes of a comeback.

The Ravens marched 77 yards in six plays.

Henry finished it from three yards out for his third touchdown of the afternoon.

Loop added the extra point and Baltimore led 38-16 with 12:46 remaining.

Indianapolis answered quickly.

Jones directed a six-play, 74-yard touchdown drive, finding tight end Tyler Warren for a nine-yard score. Shrader’s extra point made it 38-23 with 10:26 remaining.

The Colts still needed two touchdowns and another score just to pull even, however, and Baltimore made sure they never got another legitimate opportunity.

The Ravens responded with exactly the type of drive a winning football team needs when protecting a fourth-quarter lead.

Baltimore ran 10 plays, gained 43 yards and drained 6:17 off the clock.

Loop finished the drive with a 45-yard field goal to stretch the advantage to 41-23.

Indianapolis got the football back with barely four minutes remaining.

The Ravens defense ended any remaining suspense before Baltimore took possession again and ran out the clock.

Jackson looks like Jackson again

Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of Sunday’s performance was Jackson’s command of Baltimore’s offense.

Jackson averaged nearly 13 yards per passing attempt, completed 68 percent of his throws and did not turn the ball over through the air.

He also remained dangerous as a runner.

Jackson’s five-yard first-quarter touchdown gave Baltimore its first lead, while his ability to extend plays continued forcing Indianapolis defenders to account for every portion of the field.

Baltimore hired Declan Doyle as offensive coordinator during its offseason coaching overhaul, and the early returns could hardly have been better.

The Ravens generated 506 yards in Doyle’s regular-season debut calling the offense.

Baltimore produced explosive plays on the ground and through the air, kept Indianapolis off balance and showed that defenses still have an enormous problem when attempting to simultaneously contain Jackson and Henry.

Henry makes history

Henry continues to defy what running backs are typically supposed to look like at age 32.

He entered the afternoon already with more than 13,000 career rushing yards and 122 career rushing touchdowns accumulated through the end of the 2025 season.

Then he added another 144 yards and three touchdowns Sunday.

Henry’s 32-yard second-quarter touchdown showed that he still possesses more than simply short-yardage power. Once Henry reached the second level, Indianapolis could not prevent him from reaching the end zone.

Baltimore also leaned on Henry late in the game when protecting its advantage.

That combination remains one of the most difficult things about defending the Ravens.

Jackson forces defenses to account for his speed on every snap. Henry forces them to deal with one of the most physically imposing backs in NFL history.

When Baltimore is also hitting deep passes, there simply are not many good defensive answers.

Flowers provides the explosive element

Flowers’ performance might have been overshadowed slightly by Jackson and Henry, but it was equally important.

Five receptions.

150 yards.

One touchdown.

Flowers averaged 30 yards every time he caught the football.

His 49-yard reception helped set up Baltimore’s first touchdown, and his 54-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter helped turn a competitive game into a Baltimore blowout.

Chris Moore also provided a 53-yard reception, while Mark Andrews caught four passes for 49 yards.

Baltimore finished with multiple explosive receiving plays despite Jackson completing only 17 passes.

That is tremendous efficiency.

One concern coming out of the victory, however, will be Flowers’ health. Flowers and rookie wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane both left the game because of injuries, according to ESPN.

Flowers is far too important to Baltimore’s offense for the Ravens to lose him for an extended period.

Loop starts his season perfectly

Loop quietly had an excellent season opener.

The rookie converted all five of his extra-point attempts while making both of his field-goal attempts.

Those kicks came from 57 and 45 yards.

The 57-yarder at the end of the first half was especially impressive. Baltimore had only seconds remaining after moving into Indianapolis territory, but Loop confidently connected from long distance to give the Ravens a 31-13 halftime advantage.

Special teams will remain something to monitor throughout the season, but Baltimore could not have asked for much more from its kicker in Week 1.

Ravens dominate the numbers

The final score tells only part of the story.

Baltimore outgained Indianapolis 506-251.

The Ravens averaged 7.9 yards per play compared with Indianapolis’ 4.7.

Baltimore ran 64 offensive plays to Indianapolis’ 53 and controlled possession for 35:20 compared with 24:40 for the Colts.

The Ravens also won the turnover battle, forcing Indianapolis into two giveaways while committing only one themselves.

The only obvious statistical blemish was penalties.

Baltimore committed 10 penalties for 86 yards while Indianapolis was flagged only four times for 29 yards.

Those mistakes did not matter against the Colts because Baltimore dominated almost every other category.

Against stronger opponents, they could.

That will give Minter and his staff something tangible to correct before Week 2.

A strong beginning to the Minter era

Sunday represented Baltimore’s first regular-season game with Minter as head coach.

He could not have scripted a much stronger beginning.

Baltimore had three new coordinators entering the season, with Doyle leading the offense, Anthony Weaver coordinating the defense while Minter handles the defensive play calls and former Raven Anthony Levine Sr. overseeing special teams.

The offense scored 41 points.

The defense forced two turnovers and held Indianapolis to 251 yards.

Special teams produced field goals from 57 and 45 yards.

That qualifies as a successful organizational debut.

Baltimore improved to 1-0 and immediately began putting the disappointment of last season behind it.

The 2025 Ravens finished just 8-9 and missed the playoffs for only the second time since 2018.

One victory does not erase that season.

But this was exactly the type of opening statement Baltimore needed.

What’s next

Baltimore returns home next Sunday for its first game of the season at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Ravens will host the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. before preparing for a Week 3 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro.

Baltimore will enter Week 2 at 1-0 with one of the NFL’s most impressive offensive performances of opening weekend already on its résumé.

More importantly, the Ravens looked like a team capable of being extremely difficult to handle when Jackson, Henry and Flowers are all producing explosive plays.

MSB Take

This is exactly what Ravens fans needed to see.

Baltimore did not just beat Indianapolis. The Ravens imposed their style on the Colts and spent most of the afternoon looking like the vastly superior football team.

Jackson looked comfortable, decisive and explosive. Henry looked nowhere close to finished. Flowers looked like a legitimate game-breaking No. 1 receiver. The offensive line created room, the defense forced turnovers and Loop showed that Baltimore may have found a kicker capable of handling high-pressure attempts from serious distance.

The penalties need to come down, and the Flowers and Lane injuries need to be monitored closely. Those are legitimate concerns.

But those concerns should not overshadow the larger picture.

The Ravens just went on the road for the first game of an entirely new coaching era and put up 506 yards and 41 points while winning by 18.

After everything that went wrong during the 2025 season, Baltimore needed to remind the rest of the league what this roster is capable of doing.

The Ravens accomplished that Sunday.

If Jackson and Henry continue playing anywhere near this level, Baltimore is going to be an extremely difficult team to stop in 2026.