Top 4 Reasons The Ravens Should Beat The Colts In Week 1

The Ravens are considered a Super Bowl favorite.

They enter Week 1 with a clean injury report save for the two defensive starters they knew all along weren’t going to play in the opener – Nnamdi Madubuike and Teddye Buchanan - while the Colts have a trio of their top players coming off major surgery and with it unknown precisely how they will hold up Sunday. The Ravens are projected to win the AFC North by the sports books and experts, while the Colts aren’t favorites to win the usually-lowly AFC South.

Despite going on the road for their first game with rookie head coach Jesse Minter and rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, they are expected to win this game. It, quite likely, will not be easy, and there are many potential pitfalls (and a case to be made for the Colts), but there are also some inherent advantages the Ravens boast.

These are the four primary reasons Baltimore should win the season opener:

Lamar Jackson

It’s the ultimate team sport, sure, but no position in professional sports is more influential than the starting quarterback, and Jackson is as good as it gets. Fast track in a dome, a “brand-new” offense as he describes it, that has the element of surprise going for it. Did I mention Lamar is 9-1 against Colts coordinator Lou Anarumo? And that he tends to run all over his defenses?

The Colts are lacking impact linebackers and their stud defensive tackle is playing his first game back from neck surgery. Doyle must take advantage of this.

Kyle Hamilton

There are not too many hybrid defenders as smart and able as this young man, who carries a long frame with ease and can impact the ball in everyway possible around the line of scrimmage. We expect Minter to steal a page from his buddy Mike Macdonald’s playbook when Macdonald coached the Ravens against the Colts in 2023.

Hamilton mugged the line of scrimmage like crazy against Colts coach Shane Steichen’s offense and wrecked Garner Minshew – who isn’t Daniel Jones (first game back from Achilles surgery) but is mobile. He rushed off left end and the left slot and right end and the right slot and he deflected passes before they crossed the line of scrimmage and registered three sacks. Not saying he will do all of that again, but he should be at the heart of this game plan and blitzed a lot.

Health

The Colts are super excited about how ahead of schedule Jones is, but he tore his Achilles late in the season. There is a mental and physical component to this recovery and it usually takes at least a half season back before a player is really there. I have a hard time thinking we get fringe-MVP-candidate Jones in his first game back, and the Colts are going to have to be ready to deviate their plans depending on what Jones looks against a real NFL defense in a real NFL game.

Alec Pierce missed most of the summer recovering from a tricky ankle situation and they need him to be a dynamic deep threat to be able to attack this defense the way required to win this game. Even as a decoy.

Element Of Surprise

Doyle is never going to be this mysterious again. He just won’t. He’ll never have more time to prepare for one game. And with so many rookies being a part of this offensive attack, they, too, have a lack of real NFL film working for them. If this offense is doing things outside of what’s expected, of course Anarumo can adjust but in what is likely a close game, I’d much rather be playing with the lead.

In general, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ravens show well early and things get tougher as teams adjust and get a feel for what exactly Minter and Doyle are up to. This team is also dependent on a lot of older players who must be nursed through the season. and how they handle the attrition that is inevitable in this sport will be key. But that’s not a factor in Week 1.

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