Week 1 Colts Vs. Ravens Game Thread

The Indianapolis Colts are at home to take on the Baltimore Ravens in week 1 of the 2026 season, kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. EST.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have survived another offseason. The dark days are behind us and for many NFL fans week one will be the highlight of their football season. Right now fans for all 32 teams are holding out irrational hope that if everything breaks just right, this could be their year. Colts fans are no different.

Sure everyone wanted organizational change after last season’s historic start and much more memorable historic collapse, but at this point that desire just doesn’t matter.

See, if Daniel Jones can just stay healthy and those young guys on defense step up and the right side of the offensive line works itself out the way it should. And if they can recapture part of the magic they had during the first half of last season, if the receiver room can survive with Keenan Allen replacing Michael Pittman Jr, if the defensive line rotation can find another run stopper behind Grover Stewart, if it all breaks right then I really think this could be our year.

See how easy that was?

Week one will be a massive test for a Colts team who’s “urgency has never been higher”. The Ravens are coming off of their own 8-9 season. Former MVP Lamar Jackson missed four games a season ago but the team went 6-7 when he was healthy. It seemed John Harbaugh’s message had gone stale and the Ravens made a move at head coach for the first time since 2008. They hired Jesse Minter who had spent the past two seasons as the LA Chargers defensive coordinator. Declan Doyle is their new offensive coordinator after spending last season with the Chicago Bears in the same role. Doyle comes from the Sean Payton coaching tree so it will be interesting to see what their offense looks like with a quarterback like Jackson. New Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver comes over after spending two seasons with the Miami Dolphins in the same role.

See, if Doyle and Jackson mesh well and the Ravens figure out an offensive line that was slated to start Danny Pinter at center before his injury and is now starting Jovaughn Gwyn a 2023 seventh round pick of the Atlanta Falcons at center and a rookie right guard in Vega Ioane and free agent signing John Simpson and if Derrick Henry can manage to defy the laws of nature and play well at 32 years old, if Anthony Weaver can bring back those Baltimore defenses of old, if Jesse Minter is as good of a head coach as he was a defensive coordinator, if all of that breaks well for these Ravens, then this could really be their year.

Ultimately folks, it’s week one, we don’t know anything yet and we won’t know anything for at least a couple more weeks. No matter what happens today, don’t panic and don’t book your flight to Super Bowl 60. Week one always has some wild results in hindsight. Wins are always good and losses always bad, but it’s a long season with a lot of games left to be played after week one. For now, let’s just enjoy the spectacle that is NFL football. We’re back, baby.

Prediction:

Ravens: 17

Colts: 23

As always, go Colts.

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This is your week one open thread so hang out here, chat, celebrate, commiserate, and argue in the comments! Go wild (within reason)!

Go Colts!