The Ravens could hardly have asked for a better introduction to Declan Doyle’s offense. They scored 41 points, gained 506 yards and paired Derrick Henry’s downhill running with enough play action and misdirection to make Indianapolis defend the entire formation.
Week 2 asks a tougher question: does the structure still work when one of its most important pieces is missing?
Zay Flowers is out with a hamstring injury after turning five catches into 150 yards in the opener. Nnamdi Madubuike and Teddye Buchanan are also still out, while Ronnie Stanley, John Simpson and Trey Hendrickson enter Sunday questionable. The Saints have their own uncertainty, most notably Chris Olave and Chase Young, but expect Alvin Kamara and Cameron Jordan back after both missed Week 1.
That could make a game that looks like an easy win for the Ravens more interesting than we may like.
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The Saints have to prove Detroit did not expose something
The Ravens should start with the run. Henry had 24 carries for 144 yards and three touchdowns against Indianapolis, and Lamar Jackson was 7-for-8 for 128 yards off play action. The Saints finished second in EPA allowed against the run and sixth in yards per carry allowed in 2025, but Detroit ran for 165 yards in Week 1, including 156 from Jahmyr Gibbs.
The Lions leaned heavily on personnel changes, six-offensive-lineman looks and formations that forced New Orleans to adjust. The Ravens can do a version of that with multiple tight ends, plus the extra arithmetic Lamar adds whenever he keeps the ball.
The bigger question comes from the receiving corps.
Without Flowers, New Orleans can devote more safety help toward Henry unless Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews, Chris Moore or Devontez Walker make them pay. The Ravens do not need a single player to replicate Flowers’ production, but they do need the offense to keep creating answers after New Orleans identifies the first one.
The Ravens’ pressure could decide the afternoon
Tyler Shough threw for 410 yards and three touchdowns in his first start, but he also committed three turnovers, was pressured 22 times and took five sacks. The split within the game is telling: New Orleans produced 85 yards, no touchdowns and three turnovers across its first eight drives. Over its final six, it gained 325 yards and scored three touchdowns without a turnover.
The Ravens pressured Daniel Jones on 52.9% of his dropbacks in Week 1, and Jesse Minter did not need a reckless blitz rate to get there. Trey Hendrickson’s availability matters here. With Hendrickson on the field, the Ravens generated pressure on 58.6% of dropbacks against Indianapolis; without him, it fell to 20%. With Madubuike still unavailable, the game puts a spotlight on Tavius Robinson, Kyle Van Noy, Calais Campbell and Minter’s ability to manufacture disruption.
If the Ravens can create four-man pressure, they can tilt this game.
Olave presents a real test for the secondary
Indianapolis never seriously stressed the Ravens’ coverage in Week 1. Olave can. He caught 10 passes for 182 yards against Detroit and is exactly the kind of receiver New Orleans can move around with stacks and reduced splits to create a more favorable matchup than a straight line against Nate Wiggins. Wiggins allowed no catches on two targets in Indianapolis, but this assignment would test a different layer of the defense.
Kyle Hamilton, Marlon Humphrey and Keyon Martin matter here, too. Hamilton’s positionless role lets Minter disguise coverage or pressure without committing to a single picture before the snap. The Ravens do not need to erase Olave; they need to keep him from becoming the Saints’ easy answer every time the offense needs one.
The inactive list could rewrite the offensive plan
Flowers is the headline absence, but Stanley could change the calls. Carson Vinson could make his first NFL start if Stanley cannot go, and John Simpson is also questionable. That is a difficult spot against a front that could feature Chase Young, Carl Granderson and Cameron Jordan.
The Ravens have ways to compensate: tight-end chips, condensed formations, Henry in protection and more movement for Lamar. Heavy personnel can be more than a way to survive the pass rush; it can be the mechanism that forces the Saints to show their hand.
Prediction: Ravens 24, Saints 13
The injuries make this more concerning than it should be. Shough showed that he can recover within a game, and Olave gives New Orleans a real way to test the secondary. But the Ravens should still have the better answers: Henry can control early downs, Lamar can turn a pass-rush win into a problem for the defense, and the play-action game should be there if the run game finds traction.
If Hendrickson plays, the Ravens have a path to making Shough uncomfortable with four rushers. The Saints need to avoid turnovers and force the Ravens’ replacements to win isolated matchups. The Ravens should get their preferred script instead: Henry on early downs, New Orleans chasing and Shough forced to throw under pressure.
The market’s Ravens-by-8.5 spread and 45.5-point total point to a comfortable result. The inactives will determine whether it actually feels that way.