Indianapolis — The losing streak reared its ugly head once again inside Lucas Oil Stadium as the Baltimore Ravens roughed up the Indianapolis Colts 41-23 in the 2026 season opener. For a team that spent the offseason preaching a fresh start with a revamped defensive unit, the opening act instead looked painfully familiar. Indianapolis has lost 11 of its last 13 season openers, which includes a tie during that stretch.
Most opponents would expect the Colts’ gameplan would’ve been to emphasize running
the damn football, but Daniel Jones dropped back seven times on the nine-play opening drive in his first start back from the Achilles injury that ended his 2025 season. Indianapolis came out with an aerial attack as the opening script worked according to plan. Jones found receiver Josh Downs on a slant for 25 yards, then later sent him in motion to recognize the man coverage and beat it with another slant to Downs for 12 more yards. After receiver Alec Pierce caught a 13-yard pass to set up first-and-goal, Jonathan Taylor punctuated the opening drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone to give the Colts their lone lead of the game.
Baltimore needed no time to answer and scored four touchdowns on its first five drives, with the lone defensive stop being a goal line stand from Indy’s 3-yard-line. The Ravens racked up 506 total yards of offense, including 202 rushing yards and 324 passing yards. It took just three plays for the Ravens to seize the lead, for good. Star quarterback Lamar Jackson ran play action and found receiver Zay Flowers on a corner down the left side for an explosive 49-yard gain, with Flowers beating rookie cornerback Justin Walley on his very first NFL snap in a regular season game. Two plays later, Jackson ran the read option and kept the ball himself to scamper seven yards into the end zone. Just like that, the Ravens were ahead 7-6 and never looked back.
The Colts’ next possession lasted two plays. After Taylor was stuffed in the backfield for a 2-yard loss, Jones’ next pass was intercepted by linebacker Roquan Smith to give Baltimore possession inside Colts territory. The Ravens made the Colts pay by turning the early mistake into the go-ahead touchdown. After a chop block penalty pushed Baltimore from third-and-1 back to third-and-16, Jackson showcased exactly why he’s perhaps the most dangerous dual threat weapon in league history.
It seemed like Jackson was surrendering at a dead end on the midfield horseshoe, but somehow he ducked underneath the grasp of both Arden Key and DeForest Buckner, escaped the pocket, then tucked it himself for an astonishing 16-yard run to move the chains. Even from inside the stadium, it felt like the game-defining play. Three plays later, Henry powered into the end zone from 4-yards out to extend the lead to 14-6.
Flowers tormented the Colts secondary with five catches for 150 receiving yards, including a 54-yard touchdown, all in the first half before he exited with a hamstring injury. Henry later broke loose for a 32-yard touchdown as the Ravens turned a 6-0 deficit into a 28-6 lead in just 20 minutes of action. The lone bright spot for Indy’s defense created a spark late in the second quarter as edge rushers Arden Key and Laiatu Latu corralled Jackson, forcing a fumble that Buckner recovered to give Indy possession inside the red zone.
The Colts were able to capitalize on the takeaway as Taylor ripped off a 10-yard run, then finished the short drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 28-13. The league’s leading scorer last season finished with 98 rushing yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns, averaging 5.2 yards per carry.
Baltimore controlled the opening half with 326 total yards compared to Indy’s 112. Mind you, the Colts started the new campaign by receiving the opening kickoff. While the Colts settled for a 58-yard field goal from Spencer Shrader on their first drive of the second half, Henry kept up his phenomenal performance and delivered his third touchdown for the eighth time in his career. Henry finished with 144 rushing yards on 24 carries and his three touchdowns moved him into third on the NFL’s all-time career rushing touchdown list.
Jones eventually connected with second-year tight end Tyler Warren for a 9-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter, to make the final score a little more digestible at 38-23. Jones finished 19-of-31 for 166 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but after the opening script, Jones was held to 14-of-24 for just 107 yards. Alec Pierce led the Colts with four catches for 61 yards, but exited the game after the opening quarter.
Indianapolis went just 3-for-10 on third down and managed 251 total yards of offense, which was less than half of Baltimore’s 506. For one opening drive, the new season looked exactly like the fresh beginning Indianapolis had envisioned. The Colts landed the first punch, but then the Ravens responded with four touchdowns for a decisive technical knockout on the road.
The Colts visit the Kansas City Chiefs for a Sunday Night Football primetime matchup at Arrowhead Stadium. Dating back to last season, the Colts losing streak has reached eight consecutive games. With just three primetime games scheduled this season, the Colts have to make sure they don’t dig themselves too deep into a hole that heads start rolling.
