NFL
By: Courtney Byrd
A lot will look different when the Baltimore Ravens take the field Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. For the first time in 18 years, John Harbaugh won’t be standing on Baltimore’s sideline as head coach. Jesse Minter is now leading the Ravens, Declan Doyle is calling the offense for the first time, and several new players will be stepping into important roles on both sides of the ball.
But even with all that change, the expectations in Baltimore really haven’t changed at all.
The Ravens open their 2026 season Sunday afternoon on the road against Indianapolis, and they still expect to compete for the AFC North and play meaningful football deep into January. Baltimore isn’t treating this like the beginning of a rebuild or asking for patience while everyone gets comfortable. The Ravens made changes because they believe they can help a talented roster go further than it has in recent years.
That’s what makes Week 1 interesting to me. Plenty of new faces and ideas are around Baltimore, but this season will still be judged by what happens when the games matter most. Sunday is our first chance to see what this new era looks like.
Lamar at the Center of It All
As much as things have changed around the Ravens, everything still starts with Lamar Jackson. He enters Week 1 healthy after injuries interrupted his 2025 season, limiting him to 13 games and career lows for a full season in passing and rushing production. It was a frustrating year for a quarterback who has already shown what Baltimore’s offense can look like when he’s healthy and playing his best football.
Now Jackson gets a fresh start in Doyle’s offense, and I’m interested in seeing how different it looks. Baltimore has spent the offseason working on some of the smaller details of Jackson’s game, including changing his stance in the pocket to improve the timing between his drops and his receivers’ routes. The idea is to help him get the ball out on time more consistently without taking away the ability to create when a play breaks down.
That’s an important balance because nobody wants to take away what makes Jackson different. His ability to extend plays and turn something that looks completely broken into a first down is part of what makes defending him so difficult. But Baltimore also shouldn’t need him to create something out of nothing every other play. If Doyle can make the offense more efficient while still giving Jackson the freedom to be Jackson, that’s where this offense could become even harder to defend.
He has plenty of help around him. Derrick Henry is still in the backfield, and Zay Flowers appears ready for Sunday after dealing with a hamstring issue during camp. Flowers returned to full participation this week, giving Jackson his top receiver for the opener. Baltimore also added more options around him this offseason, so Doyle shouldn’t be short on ways to attack Indianapolis.
The bigger question is how quickly it all comes together. Baltimore didn’t show much of the new offense during the preseason, and the starters didn’t play, so Sunday will be our first real look at what Doyle has been working on. It’s also his first regular-season game calling plays in the NFL, which makes his debut almost as interesting as some of the changes we’ve heard about all summer.
A New Look Up Front
The offensive line is probably the part of Baltimore’s offense I’m watching most closely because a lot is changing directly in front of Jackson. The Ravens will have three new starters along the interior, with John Simpson at left guard, Jovaughn Gwyn at center, and rookie Vega Ioane at right guard.
That’s a lot of newness in the middle of an offensive line that needs to protect Jackson while also creating room for Henry. Gwyn is especially interesting because he wasn’t necessarily the player everyone expected to be starting at center when camp began. Injuries changed the competition; he took advantage of his opportunity, and Minter ultimately named him the Week 1 starter.
Indianapolis should give that group a pretty good first test. DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart can create problems in the middle, so Baltimore’s new interior doesn’t get the luxury of slowly figuring things out. Communication will matter, especially with Gwyn making his first start at center and Doyle calling his first regular-season game.
The run game could help settle everyone down. Henry gives Baltimore someone who can take pressure off Jackson and force Indianapolis to respect what’s happening in the backfield, but that only works if the offensive line can create enough space for him to get going. If Baltimore establishes the run and keeps Jackson clean, I like Doyle’s options. If Indianapolis starts consistently winning in the middle, his first game as a play caller becomes a lot more complicated.
That’s why I’m not expecting perfection from this offense immediately. There are too many moving pieces for everything to look completely polished in the first quarter of Week 1. What I do want to see is whether the pieces make sense together and whether Baltimore can adjust when Indianapolis gives them something they weren’t expecting.
Madubuike Will Have to Wait
Baltimore will also open the season without one of its biggest defensive pieces. Nnamdi Madubuike has officially been ruled out as he continues working his way back from the neck injury that ended his 2025 season after only two games.
Madubuike has returned to team drills and appears to be getting closer, but I don’t think Baltimore needs to rush this. A neck injury is bigger than one September game, especially for someone who plays a position as physical as defensive tackle. If another week or two gives Madubuike a better chance of staying healthy once he returns, that’s more important than forcing him onto the field against Indianapolis.
His absence does make the matchup with Jonathan Taylor more interesting. Taylor rushed for 1,585 yards last season, and Baltimore will have to deal with one of the league’s most productive running backs without Madubuike in the middle. That’s going to put more responsibility on the rest of the defensive front to stay disciplined, close running lanes, and finish tackles before Taylor gets into space.
This will also be our first real look at Minter’s defense. Baltimore’s defensive starters didn’t play during the preseason, although the backups allowed only 13 points across three games. Encouraging reports came from joint practices, but regular-season football is different, especially when Taylor and Daniel Jones are on the other side.
I’m interested in seeing how aggressive Minter is right away. Baltimore added Trey Hendrickson to a defense that already has Kyle Hamilton and Roquan Smith, so this group should have the ability to create pressure. If the Ravens can slow Taylor down and force Indianapolis into obvious passing situations, that’s where I think Baltimore can make the game uncomfortable for Jones.
The Ravens will also be without linebacker Teddye Buchanan as he continues working his way back from last season’s torn ACL. Overall, though, Baltimore enters Week 1 in a good place health-wise. Getting Flowers back to full participation is important for the offense, and Madubuike appears to be moving in the right direction even if Sunday came a little too soon.
The Standard Hasn’t Changed
That’s really what this season comes down to for Baltimore. The Ravens have plenty of reasons to ask for time. They have a new head coach, a first-time NFL play caller, three new starters on the interior offensive line, and roster changes throughout. But nobody inside the building seems interested in using any of that as an excuse.
And they shouldn’t.
Baltimore still has Jackson, Henry, and Flowers on offense. The defense still has players like Hamilton and Smith, with Madubuike expected back once he’s ready. The Ravens made these changes because they believe this roster can compete now, not two or three years from now.
That’s why Sunday matters beyond simply starting the season 1-0. Indianapolis gives us the first chance to see whether Minter’s Ravens already look comfortable in their new identity. I want to see whether Jackson looks healthy and in control of Doyle’s offense, whether the new offensive line can hold up, and whether Baltimore can stop Taylor without Madubuike in the middle.
I don’t expect one game to answer every question. Week 1 can be weird, especially when teams haven’t shown much during the preseason, and there isn’t much current film to study. There will probably be moments when Baltimore looks like a team adjusting to new coaches and new systems.
What matters is how the Ravens respond to those moments.
The AFC North isn’t going to give Baltimore much time to figure everything out, and the expectations surrounding Jackson aren’t getting any smaller. This team was built to compete for the division and eventually make the kind of postseason run that has continued to elude the Ravens during Jackson’s career.
That’s what I think makes this new era different. Baltimore isn’t starting over because the organization believes the old roster wasn’t good enough. The Ravens are starting something new because they believe a different approach can get more out of the talent that’s already here.
Sunday is only the beginning, but it’s our first chance to see whether that approach is working.
A lot has changed in Baltimore. The standard hasn’t.
