If the Ravens can protect Lamar Jackson and he raises the level of his game a bit, this game won’t be as troublesome as some make it out to be.
WHAT: Week Nine, Game Eight at Indianapolis Colts
WHEN: 1 p.m. (EST); Sunday, November 8
WHERE: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis (70,000)
RECORDS: Ravens, 5-2; Colts, 5-2
LIFETIME SERIES (regular season): Colts lead, 8-4. In Indianapolis, the Ravens are 0-5 in regular-season games and 0-1 in postseason contests. Indianapolis is one of four places where the Ravens have never won a regular-season game (the others are Minnesota, Chicago, and New England), but Baltimore has won two preseason games there.
BALTIMORE-AREA TV and Radio: WJZ-TV, Channel 13, WIYY-FM, 97.9 (Gerry Sandusky, Dennis Pitta, booth)
REFEREE: Adrian Hill
About the Colts
—The Colts franchise was originally born in 1947. During the second season of the now-defunct All-America Football Conference, the Miami Seahawks moved to Baltimore. The Colts joined the NFL in a 1950 merger but lost 11 of 12 games and went bankrupt. The team reappeared in 1953 when new owner Carroll Rosenbloom took over the folded Dallas Texans franchise and moved it to Baltimore. That team played in Charm City until March 1984, when it relocated to Indianapolis. The Colts are now playing their 37th season in Indianapolis after 32 NFL campaigns in Baltimore.
—In the franchise’s NFL history, spanning 68 completed seasons, the Colts have made 28 postseason appearances (ten in Baltimore), a total that is the sixth-most in league history. That total consists of 16 division titles (five in Baltimore) and 12 wild-card berths (five in Baltimore). The Colts have appeared in the AFC Championship Game seven times (tied for fourth-most in the conference) and have a 3-4 record (1-1 in Baltimore). Those three wins got them into Super Bowls 5 (Baltimore over Dallas), 41 (Indianapolis over Chicago), and 44 (New Orleans over Indianapolis). Indianapolis is the only AFC South Division team to reach the Super Bowl since 2000 and has done so twice.
—As one might expect, the Colts-Ravens series has been an intense one. The Ravens had a chance to exorcise Baltimore’s demons in their first year of existence (1996), but they lost a Sunday-night game in Indianapolis. Two years later, the Colts played their first game in Baltimore since the move, and the Ravens rallied from a big deficit to pull out a 38-31 win.
—On another Sunday-night telecast, the Colts won in Baltimore in the 2005 season opener. Quarterback Kyle Boller got hurt, and the home fans cheered as he lay on the turf. The teams’ three playoff meetings were highlighted by the Colts’ 15-6 Divisional win at Baltimore over the second-seeded Ravens after the 2006 season. Baltimore’s lopsided home win in the 2012 wild-card round launched its Super Bowl 47 run. For eventual Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, that game was Baltimore finale.
—Lucas Oil Stadium replaced the now-defunct RCA Dome (formerly Hoosier Dome) when it opened in 2008 with a 20-year naming rights agreement with Lucas Oil. The stadium was built at the cost of $720 million–funded jointly by the team, the city of Indianapolis, and the state of Indiana. The facility includes 139 luxury suites and covers 1.8 million square feet with a retractable roof that can open and close in 11 minutes. The Momentum Pro artificial turf field, which replaced the former FieldTurf surface two years ago, is 25 feet below street level.
—The Colts’ home venue has hosted numerous concerts and soccer matches, as well as Super Bowl 46 (New York Giants vs. New England). It also hosts the annual NFL scouting combine each February and has been the site of two NCAA men’s basketball Final Fours (2010, 2015). It is scheduled to host the next Final Four in April 2021 and the 2026 event.
—Indianapolis played in Detroit last week coming out of its bye. The game against the Ravens kicks off a daunting four-game stretch that continues with a trip to Tennessee and home games v. Green Bay and the Titans. After that, three of the next four games are on the road–at Houston, Las Vegas, and Pittsburgh, before a season-closing home game against Jacksonville.
—The Colts’ two losses so far this year have come on the road, by seven points to Jacksonville in Week One and nine at Cleveland in Week Five. Three of the team’s five wins have come by margins of 17 or more points, including last week’s 41-21 road win in Detroit. Even with prolific passer Philip Rivers, the Colts have still run the ball 203 times and passed it on 244 occasions, including eight sacks allowed (tied with Tampa Bay for the league-low), for a respectable minus-41 run-pass ratio. The Colts have been very careful with the ball, fumbling only three times (losing one), and the defense has allowed just four rushing touchdowns. The team’s most successful quarter has been the second, where it is outscoring its foes by an 85-44 margin.
—Indianapolis is tied with Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh with a plus-5 turnover ratio, tied for the league’s fourth-best. The team’s 12 total takeaways are tied for the third-most, but the defense has recorded just one fumble recovery. However, the Colts have picked off 11 passes this year, most in the league and second-place Pittsburgh by one. The Colts’ seven giveaways, which include just one lost fumble and six interceptions, are tied for the NFL’s third-least.
—The Colts have been charged with 40 accepted penalties. That total puts them squarely in the middle of the league pack with six fewer than Baltimore’s. Indianapolis has false-started just three times all year but has been called for offensive holding seven times–three behind the league leader. Defensively, the Colts have jumped offsides only once and has just one roughing-the-passer penalty. Individually, four different players lead the team with three penalties each, including guard Quenton Nelson, called for three holds.
—The Colts are ranked 17th in total offense (25th rushing, 11th passing, tenth scoring at 28.3 points per game). Indianapolis’ 31:51 possession-time average is the NFL’s sixth-best. A banged-up Ravens secondary will have to deal with a passing offense that’s averaging 7.79 yards per play, which is the league’s fifth-highest total. But the Colts rely heavily on their kicker due to a red-zone offense ranking in the league’s bottom third (tied for 22nd). Defensively, Indianapolis is ranked second overall (second vs. rush by allowing 79.9 yards per game, sixth vs. pass, fifth scoring by allowing 19.4 points per game). The Colts are allowing 17.7 first downs per game, the fewest in the league.
—Former University of Maryland quarterback and 14-year NFL veteran Frank Reich (overall record 23-18) was named the Colts’ head coach in 2018. He is the 21st coach in franchise history and the 11th to coach exclusively in Indianapolis. He was only the third coach in team history to win a playoff game in his debut season. As a pro, Reich played for Buffalo, Carolina, the New York Jets, and Detroit. He has coached with the Colts, Arizona Cardinals, and San Diego Chargers before becoming Philadelphia’s OC. His predecessor in Indianapolis, former Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, was fired in 2017 after six seasons, opening Reich’s hiring door.
—After 14 seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, quarterback and eight-time Pro Bowl pick Philip Rivers came to the Colts this year as an unrestricted free agent. He has cut down drastically on the mistakes he made in his final seasons with the Chargers (20 interceptions last year, sacked 34 times). He is completing 69.7 percent of his passes with ten touchdowns and six interceptions through the season’s first seven games. Rivers has been sacked only seven times and is playing to a passer rating of 97.3. Last week, Rivers directed the Colts’ most impressive offensive effort of the season–completing 23 passes to 11 different receivers. In three home games this year, Rivers has compiled a 108.7 passer rating.
—One of the league’s best young running backs, fourth-year veteran Marlon Mack, was lost for the season to a torn Achilles tendon. But the Colts fortuitously drafted Wisconsin All-America standout, Jonathan Taylor in the second round of the 2020 draft (41st overall). His 6174 yards as a Badger are the sixth-most in top-level college football history. He also scored 50 touchdowns collegiately. Taylor is averaging 3.9 yards-per-carry this season, has three touchdowns, and has caught 18 passes. Third-year back Jordan Wilkins and Nyheim Hines have scored once each on the ground. Wilkins was the so-called “hot hand” last week, getting 39 snaps and 20 carries for 89 yards in Detroit. Just in the past two weeks, TE Trey Burton has rushed for two touchdowns in short-yardage situations.
—As with the running backs, the Colts’ wideout corps has been affected by a major injury. Second-year receiver and former Ohio State star Parris Campbell is out with MCL and PCL tears in his knee. Still, Rivers has distributed the ball well, finding eight other players with at least ten completions each. Third-year player Nyheim Hines leads the team with 26 catches, a 7.7-yard average, and three of the team’s ten receiving touchdowns. Nine-year veteran and four-time Pro Bowl pick TY Hilton are next with 22, but he has been slowed with a groin injury. Hilton has had at least six catches and 90 yards in each of his last two games against the Ravens. Three-year veteran Zach Pascal (Old Dominion), a castoff from Washington and Tennessee, has 19 receptions and two touchdowns. Four-year veteran Marcus Johnson has 11 catches at an average of just over 20 yards per grab. Michael Pittman, Jr. returns to action this week after three weeks out with a lower leg injury.
—The tight end corps is a robust one. Former Philadelphia and Chicago standout Trey Burton (14 catches, one touchdown), who threw a touchdown pass to Nick Foles during the “Philly Special” play in Super Bowl 52, is joined by third-year player Mo Alie-Cox (14 receptions, two scores), and eighth-year tight end Jack Doyle, a two-time Pro Bowl honoree who has two touchdowns among his nine catches.
—Indianapolis’ offensive line has been slowly built through shrewd drafting the past few years. It has meshed into a cohesive unit that doesn’t commit many penalties and has allowed a co-league-low eight sacks. The veteran is left tackle Anthony Castonzo, a ten-year veteran from Boston College who landed a second-team All-Pro berth in 2019d cuts an imposing figure at 6-foot-7 and 320 pounds. Braden Smith, a 2018 draftee from Auburn, is the right tackle. Former Alabama center Ryan Kelly was the Colts’ 2016 first-round pick (18th overall). Guards Quenton Nelson (Notre Dame) and Mark Glowinski (West Virginia) stand a respective 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-4.
—The Colts have a stout defense that is filled with solid youth and experience. Justin Houston, a ten-year veteran in his second year with the Colts, and Tyquan Lewis are listed as defensive ends–even though Lewis sometimes slides inside. Houston and Lewis each have 3.5 sacks and four tackles for loss. Inside, veteran three-technique tackle DeForest Buckner, acquired in a trade with San Francisco, has 29 tackles (fourth on the team) and 2.5 sacks. Nose tackle Grover Stewart, a 2017 fourth-round pick, has 25 stops, while end/tackle Denico Autry added two sacks last week.
—Indianapolis will deploy its linebackers either as part of a 4-2-5 formation, a 4-3, or a 3-4. Its penchant for disguising looks has made it one of the better defenses in the league. Veteran Matt Adams is on injured reserve, but Anthony Walker and Darius Leonard– first and third on the team in tackles with 40 and 36–have been solid on the second level, leading to tackler and 2019 third-round pick Bobby Okereke (89th overall). Walker and Leonard have each broken up two passes, and Okereke co-leads the team in tackles with 40, along with three pass breakups and three tackles for loss. Leonard is in his third year with the Colts after being a 2018 second-round pick (36th overall) and had a team-high nine tackles and a sack last week after missing two games (groin). Walker, in his fifth year out of Northwestern, was a 2017 fifth-rounder (161st overall).
—The secondary is one of the league’s best. Eleven interceptions make that so. It is paced by cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes (eight pass breakups, two interceptions), a 2013 first-round pick by Minnesota (25th overall), a three-time Pro Bowl pick in his first year with the Colts. Rock Ya-Sin (17 tackles), a 2019 second-round pick (34th overall) from Temple, had to leave last week’s game in Detroit with a concussion before being cleared. Strong safety Khari Willis (Michigan State) and nickel back Kenny Moore out of Valdosta State (with two interceptions, one with a 29-yard scoring return last week) are among the team’s leading tacklers with a respective 35 and 29. Moore has also broken up seven passes. Rookie third-round free safety Julian Blackmon has six breakups and two pickoffs. He has been a good replacement for veteran Malik Hooker, who is on injured reserve.
—Three-year NC State alum Nyheim Hines is the team’s punt returner. He is averaging 10.1 yards per runback, ranking tenth in the league. He has called for just five fair catches on 18 punts. Kick returner Isaiah Rodgers, a rookie from Massachusetts, is averaging over 33 yards per runback, including a 101-yard touchdown against Cleveland in Week Five. The Colts’ coverage units are also quite strong. On punt coverage, the team allows 5.3 per runback (sixth-best), and on kicks, the average yield is 20.7, which ranks 11th.
—The kicker is undrafted rookie Rodrigo Blankenship, who had a stellar college career at Georgia. Collegiately, he converted 82.5 percent of his field-goal tries, a school record. His 440 total points are the second-most in Southeastern Conference history. Blankenship was a first-team All-America pick and the Lou Groza Award winner as the nation’s best kicker. This year, he has missed two field-goal tries (16-for-18) and two extra points, but his 66 points are by far the most of any player on the team.
—Punter Rigoberto Sanchez is in his fourth season out of Hawaii. He is grossing 46.8 yards punt, netting 41.6, and has just one touchback and 11 coffin-corner kicks in 19 tries. Sanchez has had one punt blocked.
Prediction
Despite losing last week to Pittsburgh, there were three things to like about the way Baltimore played. The Ravens ran all over the league’s best rush defense, Baltimore’s defense stifled the Steelers (until the team’s offense started giving away short fields), and special teams continued their excellent play. And while the Colts are a gaudy 5-2, their record belies offensive inconsistency and a relatively-soft schedule.
If the Ravens can protect Jackson and he raises the level of his game a bit, this game won’t be as troublesome as some make it out to be. If that happens, then the Ravens will get their first-ever road win against the team that used to call Baltimore home.
Baltimore 27, Indianapolis 10
