The Colts — many of you remember them, right? — return to rainy Baltimore today to play the Ravens.
Stick with us for coverage of the game, with insight and reporting from our team in the press box: Jonas Shaffer, Giana Han, Aron Yohannes and Kyle Goon.
Overtime: Colts 22, Ravens 19
Matt Gay hits his fourth field goal of 50 or more yards — no kicker has ever done that in an NFL game before — to end this game.
Lamar Jackson looks very angry on the sideline.
No flag
On third-and-4 from the Indianapolis 47, the Ravens turn to Isaiah Likely, who drops it. Great throw. Bad catch. Zay Flowers very mad that Lamar did not dial him up on a slant.
Ravens line up on fourth down as though they might go for it and .... huh? They call a timeout. Guess they’re going for it.
So, here we go: fourth-and-3.
Jackson tries for Flowers over the middle and he’s .... tackled before the ball gets to him.
And there is no penalty. For some reason.
Huge stop for Baltimore
Michael PIttman makes a wild leaping catch to get the Colts to their 45. Ravens safety Geno Stone is injured delivering a big hit on the play.
But the Ravens stop Zack Moss on third-and-2, bringing up a fourth-and-1 at the Baltimore 46.
The Ravens swarm. Brandon Stephens, who got beat by Pittman, slices through the gap and makes the tackle in the backfield.
Ravens ball.
Ravens can’t capitalize
Two handoffs to Melvin Gordon III brought up a third-and-6 from the Indianapolis 44.
On third, Lamar Jackson throws behind Zay Flowers.
It’d be a 62-yard field goal. Justin Tucker just missed from 61.
Ravens opt to punt and pin the Colts at their own 11.
Ravens force three-and-out
Colts open the extra period with the football.
A sack on first down brings up second-and-12.
Roquan Smith, whose pressure had caused the sack, made an open-field tackle to bring up third-and-6.
Gardner Minshew completely misses a wide receiver after a DB falls, and the Colts punt.
Devin Duvernay weaves his way through the punt coverage and emerges past midfield after a 31-yard return.
4th quarter: Ravens 19, Colts 19
The Colts lined up as though they might do something with 1 second left, but Gardner Minshew just spiked the ball and we’re on to OT.
Ravens 19, Colts 19 (0:01)
Ooooof. The Ravens get near Justin Tucker’s range, but then Lamar Jackson is immediately pressured and fails to throw the ball away. He scrambles and is sacked all the way back at his own 39-yard line.
On the next play, Jackson tries for Devin Duvernay over the middle but there’s too much traffic and the ball is knocked away.
But then Jackson hits Nelson Agholor to set up Justin Tucker for a 61-yarder.
He comes up short. Quite a bit.
Colts 19, Ravens 19 (0:57)
Excellent coverage by Brandon Stephens forces the Colts into trying another long field goal. And Matt Gay easily knocks it through to tie the game. This one from 53 yards.
Now it’s up to Lamar Jackson to give Justin Tucker a similar chance.
Ravens fail to run out the clock — or run much clock at all
Well, this is interesting. The Colts opted not to do an onside kick. Zay Flowers unwisely ended the play without getting to the two-minute warning, giving the Colts an extra timeout. The Ravens are without Gus Edwards. Gulp.
Nothing going on the first two downs. On third-and-9, the Ravens get confused and need to call a timeout. They hand off to Zay Flowers on an end around, and it does not work. Nelson Agholor is called on a block in the back, stopping the clock.
The officials missed a blatant face mask that Flowers caused by cutting back and keeping the play alive.
The Ravens need a stop with 1:41 left. They ran almost nothing off the clock there.
Ravens 19, Colts 16 (2:05)
With the crowd at M&T Bank roaring, the Ravens swarm Gardner Minshew and the Colts as they try to work with almost no room. Minshew steps out on his drop back on third down, leading to a safety.
Oh no Gardner.
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 24, 2023
(via @CBSSports) pic.twitter.com/uhdl2ZaT2a
Lamar Jackson doing Lamar Jackson things
He spins out of what seemed to be a sure-thing sack to pick up a third-down conversion. He even stays in bounds to keep the clock running.
But it’s all for nothing, as the Ravens can’t protect on third down and he’s sacked. The Ravens get a break, though, as the Colts fail to field the punt and have to start at their own 2.
All. The. Injuries.
Ravens running back Gus Edwards is out. Appears to be concussion protocol related.
Ravens make a stop
Big players make big plays in big moments. First it was Jadeveon Clowney blowing up a run, then he stuck with Minshew after he improvised his way out of the pocket and forced him into a bad throw.
Ravens 17, Colts 16 (7:33)
Justin Tucker hits his 58th kick of 50 yards or more (that’s second all time) to put the Ravens back in front.
The offense got things going with some Lamar Jackson runs and looked likely to convert on third down before Nelson Agholor seemed to sleep as he tried to drive for the last few yards he needed.
Hit the sprinkler, @jtuck9 😂 pic.twitter.com/kD9PjHy38b
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) September 24, 2023
Colts 16, Ravens 14 (11:22)
The Colts push back, using a nifty wide receiver screen to Michael Pittman to get into field goal range. Matt Gay hits a 53-yarder.
3rd quarter: Ravens 14, Colts 13
Ravens 14, Colts 13 (0:13)
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Hey, the Ravens held onto the football and it led to points. How about that?
Lamar Jackson scored from 10 yards out on a third-and-1. The Ravens lined up in empty, and he did the rest. They’d converted a third down earlier in the drive with a prototypical power run, too.
The offense is back on track.
— Baltimore Banner Sports (@AllBannerSports) September 24, 2023
🎥: @Ravens pic.twitter.com/hp6GiYW4YJ
Lamar Jackson leads all players in passing yards (133), rushing yards (65), touchdowns (2) and balls punted in celebration (1).
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) September 24, 2023
A big stop for Baltimore
Kyle Hamilton made a big play, again, swatting down a pass, and the Ravens’ secondary played a broken third-down attempt perfectly.
Offensive line issues continue for Ravens
The Colts are getting too much pressure without having to blitz. This drive showed it. Baltimore called a play that needed to develop, and Lamar was flushed from the pocket before he could. Then his pocket deteriorated on third down and, though he stepped up, he was throwing through traffic and missed Mark Andrews.
Colts 13, Ravens 7 (8:33)
Not going to lie: I sort of thought the Ravens would break free from the muck of the first half immediately to open this half, but that hasn’t been the case. The defense eventually made a stop — thanks to Jadeveon Clowney’s burst off the edge — but Matt Gay hit a 53-yard field goal to add to Indianapolis’ lead.
Tough first drive
This live blog has been full of praise for Todd Monken, but his third-down call on the opening drive of the second half — one where the Ravens trotted an extra lineman onto the field, and then got no push at all — was not good. At all. You have Lamar Jackson. Spread the defense. Call some slants. Plant Mark Andrews in the middle of the field. See what happens. This was just too precious.
Halftime analysis
This one is not all that complicated. The Ravens are a much better football team. They are making too many mistakes. They are in danger of losing this game because of it.
Lamar Jackson hasn't missed a throw, Kyle Hamilton has three sacks, and the Colts are averaging a measly 3.5 yards per play.
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) September 24, 2023
But the Ravens keep shooting themselves in the foot. They're down 10-7 at halftime.
2nd quarter: Colts 10, Ravens 7
Gardner Minshew continues to refuse to acknowledge that Kyle Hamilton exists, and Kyle Hamilton continues sacking Gardner Minshew. For a third time in this game, Hamilton came off a corner blitz and crushed a completely unaware Minshew. This time Minshew fumbled, and while it looked like the Ravens might scoop and score, the ball knocked around and was eventually recovered by the Colts, who had to punt.
The play stopped a drive that looked like it might lead to at least a field goal.
Uh. Oh.
The Ravens continue hurting themselves. Rookie Zay Flowers fails to get lined up in time, leading to a penalty. And then a snap from backup center Sam Mustipher doesn’t snap and the ball just sort of skitters across the ground, leaving Lamar Jackson to cover it up.
Colts 10, Ravens 7 (3:26)
Tricky stuff from the Colts. They appeared as though they would line up for a short field goal and then — whoosh, a Mayflower truck came and took everything! Just kidding. They then pretended to put the offense on the field. The Ravens called time out.
The same thing happened again on the next attempt. And the Colts took a delay-of-game penalty.
It was all weird and boring and not all that fun, really. Then the Colts kicked a 31-yard-field goal.
It feels as though the Ravens should definitely stop dropping the football and allowing the Colts to pick it up. That’s been a real problem here so far.
Colts lead 10-7 after some special teams ~drama~.
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) September 24, 2023
Ravens have to hold on to the ball. Their past three drives have ended:
Fumble
Recovered fumble on sack
Lost fumble on sack
Lamar Jackson fumbles
Well, a disastrous start to Baltimore’s attempt to answer the Colts touchdown, as Lamar Jackson fakes a throw and loses the football as his arm swings down. Indianapolis ball, the Ravens’ 20-yard-line.
Colts 7, Ravens 7 (6:07)
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This is what Gardner Minshew does (intermittently): He can dink and dunk an offense forward and is just creative enough to make big plays. He did it on this drive and has completed 10 passes in a row. He’s taken to adjusting the play at the line — the Colts went tempo for most of that drive — and exploited the lack of a deep safety on the TD pass, a lofted ball that landed in the hands of running back Zack Moss.
David Ojabo questionable to return
The injuries just won’t stop. The Ravens are already without edge Odafe Oweh, and now David Ojabo has left this game with what appears to be an ankle injury. He was looked at by trainers earlier, tried to return, and is now questionable.
Patrick Mekari struggling
Ronnie Stanley’s replacement at left tackle did nothing to slow Samson Ebukam on a third-down pass rush, and he sacked Lamar Jackson, jarring the ball loose. Jackson gathered the football, but the Ravens were forced to punt.
Ebukam is a nice player but not the type that should be able to do that.
Colts bottled up
Gardner Minshew did his “I”m going to avoid some pressure and roam around back here and make a play eventually” thing to get the Colts to midfield, but the offense sputtered from there. Kyle Hamilton, who already has two sacks, made a tackle for loss, and then the Ravens read and defended a WR screen to Michael Pittman to force a punt.
1st quarter: Ravens 7, Colts 0
Kenyan Drake does a great thing, then a bad thing
Kenyan Drake returned to the Ravens this week. In his first touch of the season he took a short pass and dashed impressively down the field ... only to have the ball punched away as he was tackled.
This is a thing that can happen to a player who is not as sharp as he would be had he been going through practices all week. Drake was actually with the Colts during camp but had been without a team since being cut on Aug. 27.
Gardner Minshew is baffled
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He looked great in relief of Anthony Richardson last week but is not picking up much today. He was once again crushed by Kyle Hamilton running free on a blitz. These aren’t blind-side blitzes, and a veteran like Minshew should be accounting for the possibility of a player breaking free on that side if there’s no extra blocking but he’s just ... not.
Ravens 7, Colts 0 (6:35)
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Lamar Jackson looked very sharp throwing the ball on the first drive, connecting with Mark Andrews and then Zay Flowers twice before picking up a first down on a QB draw.
He then hit Rashod Bateman, eluded a free rusher on a corner blitz to salvage a play, and found Isaiah Likely on play later.
Then he took it upon himself to score, dashing right, guiding his center into the block he needed — literally Lamar nudged the guy to where he had to be — then did a classic juke to break one last tackle before the end zone.
Lamar Jackson opens the game 5-5 for 45 yards.
— Baltimore Banner Sports (@AllBannerSports) September 24, 2023
And a nifty rushing TD.
🎥: @Ravens pic.twitter.com/s5h8ztfzNS
Jackson was 5-for-5 for 46 yards passing on that drive, and he ran for 26 yards, too. He’s just extremely comfortable in this offense right now and is reading the field better than he ever has — and he’s never been anything but very good at that, anyway.
It’s early. This offense is likely to go through growing pains. But you have to be impressed with what Todd Monken has done so far.
Playing against Lamar has to be the most frustrating thing ever.
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) September 24, 2023
You can do every assignment right and he is still going to cook you.
Colts get the ball first
Welp, the Ravens gave up their first first down of the first quarter on the first play from scrimmage.
It didn’t really matter. Kyle Hamilton came untouched off the edge on third down and crushed Indianapolis QB Gardner Minshew for a drive-ending sack.
One thing to watch today.
Oh, hey, OBJ
Odell Beckham Jr. isn’t playing today, but he is appearing in this spot from Apple TV introducing Usher as the Super Bowl halftime performer.
USHER. LAS VEGAS. APPLE MUSIC HALFTIME SHOW. #SBLVIII https://t.co/Vh4qVbiAa4@Usher, @OBJ, @nfl, @rocnation, @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/Yqk8PKfzb0
— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) September 24, 2023
Inactives
The big injury news in this one was settled during the week.
The Colts will be without their talented rookie QB:
The Colts will be without their starting QB when they play the Ravens on Sunday. https://t.co/6I2XAmLwyp
— Baltimore Banner Sports (@AllBannerSports) September 22, 2023
The Ravens will play without ... well, a lot of very important players!
The tarp is off the field. Inactives will be announced in 20 minutes. The Ravens already ruled out seven players:
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) September 24, 2023
RB Justice Hill
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
LT Ronnie Stanley
C Tyler Linderbaum
OLB Odafe Oweh
CB Marlon Humphrey
S Marcus Williams pic.twitter.com/9fr9oYJGTb
So the Ravens will be without … *takes deep breath*
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) September 22, 2023
… two of their top three RBs (Dobbins and Hill), their most experienced WR, their best pass blocker, their best run blocker, their top edge rusher, their best CB and their top ball hawk …
But they’re still TD favorites. 🙃
Some thoughts on what it all means ...
As the Ravens look for a 3-0 start, they will be without top players across both offense and defense.
Seven players, all of whom are starters, remained inactive Sunday after missing practice all week.
Running back Justice Hill is out with a toe injury, and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is recovering from an ankle injury. The offensive line is missing center Tyler Linderbaum (ankle) and left tackle Ronnie Stanley (knee).
On defense, the Ravens will be without safety Marcus Williams (pectoral), cornerback Marlon Humphries (foot) and outside linebacker Odafe Oweh (ankle).
On the bright side, coach John Harbaugh said, none of the injuries has recovery periods that last more than a few weeks.
“We thought we would have a couple of guys back this week, [but] they’ll be working for next week,” Harbaugh said. “They’re right in that range. So that’s the good news.”
With so many absences, the Ravens had to rearrange the roster. Saturday, they released veteran quarterback Josh Johnson to make room for two more running backs. Kenyan Drake and Melvin Gordon III were promoted from the practice squad to help out Gus Edwards, the remaining running back out of the three the Ravens started the season with (in addition to Hill, J.K. Dobbins suffered a season-ending injury in the first game after he tore his Achilles tendon). With wet conditions, the run game will be leaned on more heavily, and Drake and Gordon will provide relief for Edwards, who has carried a heavy load.
The secondary saw large contributions from their depth players who stepped into Williams’ and Humphries’ roles. Safety Geno Stone made an interception in the end zone to help the Ravens defeat the Bengals 27-24 last week.
However, with Oweh out, the Ravens promoted outside linebacker Jeremiah Moon. Moon joined the Ravens as an undrafted rookie and could make his NFL debut.
— Giana Han
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Pregame reads/listen
👀 Ravens WRs vs. Colts secondary
— Baltimore Banner Sports (@AllBannerSports) September 22, 2023
👀 Offensive line injuries
👀 Bad weather
What to watch for this Sunday. https://t.co/NOHx5HNHOb
How will the Ravens' banged up defense fare against Gardner Minshew and the Colts?@PaulMancano and @jonas_shaffer preview tomorrow's game on The Banner Ravens Podcast 🎙️ https://t.co/sjWj8MtoeA
— Baltimore Banner Sports (@AllBannerSports) September 23, 2023
The Colts' loaded defensive line could present challenges for the Ravens on Sunday. https://t.co/VTdT5WLpv5
— Baltimore Banner Sports (@AllBannerSports) September 22, 2023
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