The Jesse Minter era in Baltimore got off to a winning start.
One of MinterâÂÂs first big moves was hiring Declan Doyle as his offensive coordinator and that decision paid off for the Ravensâ biggest stars in their season-opening win over the Colts. Derrick Henry ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns, Lamar Jackson produced a pair of touchdowns and the Ravens will head into Week 2 off the back of a 41-23 win.
Jackson finished 17-of-25 for 324 yards through the air and he ran four times for 43 yards in the kind of performance that the Ravens saw far too infrequently while missing the playoffs last year. He opened the scoring with a touchdown run that he set up with a 49-yard strike to wide receiver Zay Flowers and later hooked up with Flowers for a 52-yard score.
Flowers had five catches for 150 yards in less than two quarters, but then missed the rest of the game with a hamstring injury. The Ravens also lost wideout JaâÂÂKobi Lane to a wrist injury, which gives them a pair of concerns at the position as they get set to host the Saints in Week 2.
The Ravens fell down 6-0 to open the game, but quickly took the lead with a pair of touchdowns wrapped around a Roquan Smith interception of Colts quarterback Daniel Jones. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey forced another turnover by stripping Jonathan Taylor and the Ravens were up 28-6 at one point in the first half.
The final score got more respectable as the Ravens slowed down in the wake of FlowersâÂÂs injury, but the overall picture is one that will make for a lot of smiles around the teamâÂÂs facility this week.
Jones finished 19-of-31 for 166 yards in his first game since tearing his Achilles last season. He only ran once, which is a big difference from how he was used prior to the injury and that missing dimension didnâÂÂt help the Coltsâ cause on Sunday. Their defenseâÂÂs inability to stop the Ravens hurt them more, though, and theyâÂÂll have to try to come up with something better on both sides of the ball to avoid an 0-2 start when they head to Kansas City next week.