Four Storylines For Ravens' Home-Opening Matchup vs. Saints

Breaking down the most intriguing angles of the Baltimore Ravens' Week 2 interconference clash against a feisty up-and-coming team.

Sep 13, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers (4) celebrates a catch over Indianapolis Colts cornerback Justin Walley (27) at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Baltimore Ravens will be taking their home field at M&T Bank Stadium for the first time in the regular season under new head coach Jesse Minter this upcoming Sunday. Their opponent for this Week 2 bout will be the New Orleans Saints.

Coming off an impressive season-opening victory on the road in Week 1, where they dominated the Indianapolis Colts 41-23, the Ravens are currently leading the AFC North division after being the only team in it to beat a conference opponent last week.

There are several intriguing storylines surrounding this interconference matchup between these two teams. Here are the top four.

Will Zay Flowers be back in action?

A more apt question might be: should the Ravens two-time Pro Bowler and No. 1 wideout even risk suiting up for a nonconference game they most likely could still win comfortably without him? The NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint and soft tissues like hamstring injuries can be fickle and flare up repeatedly and possibly even lead to a more significant long-term injury if not given sufficient time to heal.

Flowers already missed two weeks of practice during training camp as a result of this injury and sat out the first two days of practice this week before returning on Friday. They got a glimpse of what kind of game-breaking playmaker he can be in offensive coordinator Declan Doyle's scheme in the first two quarters last week, when he racked up a career-high 150 receiving yards on five receptions against the Colts before sitting out the second half.

With a lighter opening schedule in terms of strength of opponent and a backloaded slate filled with divisional matchups, the Ravens need a healthy Zay Flowers later more than they need a physically limited or compromised version of him now. Even with standout rookie Ja'Kobi Lane being placed on injured reserve, they still have a promising mix of experienced and fledgling talent between veterans Rashod Bateman and Chris Moore to go along with youngsters Devontez Walker, Elijah Sarratt and LaJohntay Wester.

Will Ravens reverse last year's misfortunes at home?

Jan 11, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens fans cheer in the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers in an AFC wild card game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

One of the most unforgivable and inexcusable aspects of the Ravens' woefully underwhelming 2025 season was subjecting their home fans to more losses than wins, the fewest in franchise history- with a 3-6 home record. Historically, the Ravens have had one of the best home-field advantages, and it seems only fitting that they're wearing their all-white uniform combination for the home opener because they are essentially trying to cleanse themselves of past failures and begin anew with the 'Next Flight' jersey collection, White Noise theme and being under new leadership in Minter.

Could Nnamdi Madubuike finally make his debut?

Sep 29, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike (92) along the sidelines during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Flowers isn't the only star playmaker whose status for this game remains up in the air, as their two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle is chomping at the bit to take to the field for not only the first time this season, but dating back to Week 2 of last season, when he suffered a severe neck injury and missed the remainder of the year.

Madubuike has been a limited participant in every practice for the past two weeks, and the fact that the team didn't place him on short-term injured reserve to start the season indicates that they're confident that he'll be making his 2026 debut within the first four weeks. When healthy, the seventh-year veteran is one of the most disruptive interior pass rushers in the league, with 21 sacks in his last 36 games. His long-awaited return would fire up the home crowd and provide even more juice to what was a potent pass rush last week, despite only finishing with just two sacks as a team.

Can Ravens prevent getting into a shootout?

Dec 21, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave (12) celebrates a touchdown against the New York Jets with New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) during the third quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While the home team is heavily favored to come out on top in this game, the Saints proved in Week 1 that they are feisty enough to battle back from a 21-point deficit in a short amount of time. They nearly completed a furious comeback to beat the Detroit Lions before a failed two-point conversion resulted in a narrow 31-30 defeat.

New Orleans is bringing the league's leader in passing yards, second-year quarterback Tyler Shough, and the leader in both receptions and receiving yards, standout wideout Chris Olave. Disrupting and limiting the connection between the two, who linked up 10 times on 13 targets for 182 yards and a league-high seven first downs, will be a top priority for Minter and the defense.

On the other side of the ball, the only thing that slowed down the Ravens' offense in Week 1 was penalties. As long as they don't repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot and keep franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson upright, they should have no problem picking up where they left off and continuing to move the ball at will on the ground and through the air. They're going up against a Saints defense that allowed a 96.7 passer rating to Jared Goff and 156 rushing yards and two scores to Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs.