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Ravens rollover Colts 41-23 in Opening Day romp in Indianapolis

September 17, 2026

September 17, 2026 – JR McHenry, On-Air Talent/Field Reporter

INDIANAPOLIS — On a sunny, late summer day in Indiana’s state capitol, the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens faced off to open up the 2026 regular season. Week 1 matchups are always a toss up as most teams hold out starters on both sides of the ball to ensure they are healthy for the regular season. With this new normal in the NFL, the first quarter of the season is like an extended preseason, as teams work through the kinks and find their identities since they did not play that much or if any in the preseason.

The Colts took the opening drive and marched down the field in 9 plays covering 65 yards ending a Touchdown by Running Back Jonathan Taylor made you think at that moment that it was going to be the Colts day, but that was not to be. The next 5 drives by the Colts ended with an interception, punt, punt, fumble and another punt before capitalizing on a short field after the defense forced a fumble by Ravens Quarterback Lamar Jackson. The fumble by Jackson kept the Colts in the game for the time being because it was about to get ugly had that forced fumble not stopped the bleeding.

The score was not indicative of the total domination by the Ravens in this game. The Ravens had 10 penalties for 86 yards in this game. Many of these penalties were of the pre-snap variety and holding. The holding calls brought back a few big plays that would have kept the drives going and put pressure on the Colts defense that looked confused throughout the day due to a scheme that new Ravens offensive coordinator, Declan Doyle, threw at them with a great mix of run and pass. Lamar Jackson looked very comfortable in Doyle’s offense, hitting open men in stride and taking off to scramble when needed, additionally Ravens Running Back Derrick Henry had a big day, scoring 3 Touchdowns while carrying the ball 24 times for 144 yards.

It’s hard to win in the NFL when a team gives 506 yards and gets beat by 11 minutes and 20 seconds in time of possession. On a day like this, the offense has to be in shootout mode, unfortunately for the Colts, that was not to be on this day. Jonathan Taylor was a bright spot for the Colts on this day rushing for 98 yards on 19 carries despite his lost fumble.

Colts Coach Shane Steichen talked about in the postgame press conference that they have to play better and coach better. Steichen spoke about how this kind of performance is unacceptable and that they have a lot to clean up during this practice week. He also stated that they have to be honest with themselves and be accountable to what they put on film to improve in every facet going forward.

The Colts have a big game on the road in Week 2 on Sunday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs showed on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos that they can dominate the game with their offensive line and running back as they get QB Patrick Mahomes back in the flow as he comes back from a serious knee injury from the 2025 season. In the game be on the lookout for how the Colts defend the Chiefs running game and if the Chiefs may try to copy cat some of the runs Ravens hit the Colts with to attack a perceived weakness. After this game on Sunday night, the Colts will return to Lucas Oil Stadium for a Week 3 division with the Houston Texans, where the world will know where they stand on the 2026 regular season journey.

Here’s postgame video and sound from the Colts loss to the Ravens: