The Baltimore Ravens largely dictated terms on both sides of the ball in their Week 1 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Jesse Minter’s defense bounced back after getting walked down the field to start the game, forcing three punts and two turnovers on their next five drives. New offensive coordinator Declan Doyle exploded out of the gate with four touchdowns on his first five possessions and finished the game with over 500 total yards. But Minter (and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver) could be
without All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson on Sunday, while Doyle could be missing as many as three of his Week 1 starters.
The Ravens are still entering their Week 2 matchup against the Saints as 8.5-point favorites (via FanDuel Sportsbook), but those injuries could make the margins much tighter.
Getting Pressure on Tyler Shough
In Hendrickson, the Ravens would not just lose their best individual pass rusher. The former Bengal may have made his name by producing in a four-man rush, but Minter and Weaver clearly have bigger plans for him in Baltimore.
Take Week 1, for example. Hendrickson torched Colts left tackle Bernhard Raimann with speed-to-power moves in their lone previous matchup back in 2023. Despite the time interval since, both teams likely studied that encounter last week. Other coaches may have been content to simply turn Hendrickson loose against Raimann a second time, but the Ravens’ staff had a slightly different approach. Minter designed his pressure packages around Hendrickson’s ability to collapse the pocket from the blind side. The opposite edge rusher, often Tavius Robinson, was lying in wait for Daniel Jones to feel the pressure and move off his spot. With the fastball established, Hendrickson could mix in change-ups with his elite hand usage and Minter could throw curves by having him loop back to the inside.
Hendrickson missed most of this week’s practices, giving Minter and Weaver a chance to tinker with the pass rush for Sunday’s matchup with the Saints. Their offensive line had a solid Week 1 performance outside of right tackle Taliese Fuaga, who had his hands full with Aidan Hutchinson. The Ravens do not have another edge rusher of that caliber, so they will likely need to scheme up pressure to get to Tyler Shough consistently.
Mike Green only had nine pass rush snaps in Week 1, but he would be in line for a lot more if Hendrickson is absent. He has some power, but his game is more built around his combination of burst and bend that allow him to get around the edge. New Orleans will likely have left tackle Kelvin Banks take Green upfield when he tries to do so, which will create space next to the left guard. Minter can attack that directly with delayed blitzes from the second-level. He can also use Calais Campbell and Travis Jones to draw double-teams and flip them directly into into pick plays, potentially with Aeneas Peebles using his quickness to line up over the right guard and loop through the opposite B gap.
Keeping Lamar Jackson Clean
On offense, the Ravens will be without star wide receiver Zay Flowers, and left tackle Ronnie Stanley and left guard John Simpson are also questionable. Flowers was dominant before going down in the first half in Week 1, while Stanley and Simpson enabled Jackson to roll out to the left side for explosive plays. That was how Baltimore opened their first possession in Indianapolis.
Those absences could stack on each other in the pass game. Flowers is often Jackson’s first read, especially under pressure. That could happen more often on Sunday with Carson Vinson making his first NFL start (potentially against Chase Young) and either Andrew Vorhees or Emery Jones stepping in at left guard.
Doyle has two obvious solutions: using extra blockers and going into the shotgun. The former deprives the Ravens of numbers downfield with Flowers already sidelined, while the latter moves Jackson away from the under-center looks that worked so well in Week 1.
Doyle will stick with his 12 and 13 personnel formations with Jackson under center to slam the run with Derrick Henry and set up max-protect play-action shots. On those plays, the Saints will likely focus on Rashod Bateman and Mark Andrews, the Ravens’ clear second and third receiving targets behind Flowers. That should create opportunities for Devontez Walker to run free after missing Week 1 with an ankle injury.
The Ravens will still want Jackson to drop back and pass from under center, but if the left side of the line cannot hold, they will have to consider a few changes. Rolling out to the left off play-action may be less of an option, and Jackson might need to stay in the shotgun in obvious passing situations so he has more time against the blitz.
Moving to the shotgun can also remedy any potential weakness in the run game as a result of this week’s injuries. Even the threat of Jackson taking off with the ball changes the math at the line of scrimmage and forces an unblocked defender into a tough decision. Enough a whiff of hesitation can give the O-line enough of an advantage to create a hole.
