Ravens' Four Keys to Victory vs. Saints

The Baltimore Ravens will give themselves the best chance to emerge victorious over their NFC foe if they achieve these goals.

fNov 7, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) scrambles away from New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (94) and safety Tyrann Mathieu (32) during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Ravens are more than a touchdown favorite to come out on top in their home matchup against the New Orelaens Saints in Week 2 of the 2026 regular season.

This will be the official home opener under first-time head coach Jesse Minter. With a win, they'll improve to 2-0 before getting back on the road again to take on the Dallas Cowboys in an international interconference game in Brazil in Week 3.

In this showdown between two teams with high-scoring potential, the Ravens can emerge victorious if they follow these keys.

Keep Saints' defense on its toes

The Ravens will be without their top weapon in the passing game after officially ruling out two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers on Saturday. On top of that, the left side of their offensive line could be compromised if two-time Pro Bowler Ronnie Stanley can't suit up and second-year pro Carson Vinson is forced to make his first career start against a Saints pass rush that will be at full strength with the expected return of eight-time Pro Bowler Cameron Jordan to the lineup.

With no Flowers, offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and Lamar Jackson should make an effort to get veteran Rashod Bateman going early, but also be sure to spread the ball around with designed plays for other weapons, especially off play action. Using pre-snap motion and post-snap misdirection could buy their pass protection unit more time by slowing down the Saints' rush as well as set up timely screens. Since New Orleans will be expecting the Ravens to run the ball early and often, dialing up some play-action shots early, particularly to third-year speedster Devontez Walker, could prove especially effective.

Disrupt connection to Chris Olave

Dec 7, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) and wide receiver Chris Olave (12) celebrate a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Saints' entire passing attack centers around the fifth-year veteran who has eclipsed 1,000-plus receiving yards three times in his first four years and is one of the most gifted pass-catchers in the league when healthy. Even though he popped up on the injury report Thursday with a hamstring injury and was assigned a questionable status for the game, he is expected to play.

Olave is coming off a monster Week 1 outing in which he posted the most targets (13), receptions (10), receiving yards (182) and receiving first downs (7). The Ravens' secondary should and will be on high alert about the threat he presents, especially in obvious passing situations and if the Saints trail by double figures at any point.

Establish and lean on ground game

Sep 13, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) runs for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Just because the Saints will be expecting a heavy dose of star running back Derrick Henry, it doesn't mean the Ravens should stick with their main game plan and what worked so well in Week 1, when the future Hall of Famer ran his way into making more history with 144 rushing yards and three touchdowns. New Orleans' interior defensive line isn't anywhere near as talented or daunting as the Colts' last week, so this could lead to a productive day running between the tackles behind the Ravens' revamped interior offensive line.

The Saints allowed 165 yards on the ground to the Detroit Lions in their opener, including 156 to Jahmyr Gibbs alone. Now they find themselves going up against a Ravens offense that racked up 202 yards and produced four rushing scores, with Jackson scoring the first on a walk-in keeper. Keeping the ball on the ground predominantly will allow Baltimore to dominate time of possession, limit the Saints' drives and opportunities to mount a comeback if they do fall behind multiple scores early or late.

Put Tyler Shough under constant duress

Sep 13, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) is sacked by Detroit Lions defensive line Alim McNeill (54) in overtime at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Even though the Saints' starting signal caller will be 27 next Monday, he's still just beginning his second season in the league and will be making just his 11th career start against the Ravens in Week 2. He hasn't seen every kind of defense in the league yet and Minter will certainly have some creative pressures and coverages dialed up to confuse and confound Shough, who sometimes holds onto the ball too long and was sacked five times last week, two of which resulted in him fumbling.

The Ravens pressured veteran quarterback Daniel Jones on 18 of his 34 dropbacks, the most of any quarterback in the league in Week 1, according to NextGenStats. This could be another instance where Baltimore's pass rush continues to stay hot and yield even better results after logging just two sacks last week. Going up against the team that originally drafted him in 2017, four-time Pro Bowl veteran edge rusher Trey Hendrickson will be chomping at the bit to notch his first sack of the season, despite dealing with a finger injury.