Colts Clips
The Ravens have a big lead over the Colts, but they are running short on healthy wideouts.
Rookie Ja’Kobi Lane has been ruled out for the rest of the afternoon with a wrist injury. Zay Flowers has been out with a hamstring injury since the second quarter, but the team has only classified him as questionable to return.
Lane appeared to catch a touchdown in the first half, but the play was wiped out by a holding penalty. He had an 11-yard catch later in the half.
Flowers had five catches for 150 yards and a touchdown to help the Ravens to a 31-13 halftime lead. The Colts have cut it to 31-16 with 7:55 to play in the third quarter.
Wide receiver Zay Flowers’s first game since signing a long-term deal in Baltimore has been one of the biggest days of his career, but he won’t be adding any highlights in the second half.
Flowers set up the Ravens’ first touchdown in Indianapolis with a 49-yard catch and later scored on a 54-yard catch-and-run that came after he lined up in the backfield. Flowers had five catches for 150 yards overall, but left with a hamstring injury in the second quarter and the Ravens announced that he is questionable to return.
Flowers’s exploits helped the Ravens race out to a 28-6 lead in a strong opening half for their new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. Derrick Henry ran for a pair of scores, including a 32-yarder up the sideline, and Lamar Jackson also ran for a score in an encouraging sign after his running totals dipped in 2025. Jackson also turned a near-sack into a 16-yard gain on a third down and ran three times for 40 yards overall while going 12-of-17 for 229 yards through the air.
The only negative for Jackson came when he lost a fumble on an Arden Key sack in the second quarter. The Colts turned that into Jonathan Taylor’s second touchdown of the day, but they still trail 31-13 with the Ravens getting the ball to start the second half.
Daniel Jones started off well in his return to the Colts’ lineup, but the second offensive possession did not turn out as well.
Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith got his hands on a Jones pass and then reeled it in for an interception that set Baltimore up at the Colts’ 31-yard-line. The home team looked like they might limit the Ravens to a field goal attempt, but Lamar Jackson had a trick up his sleeve.
Jackson avoided a heavy pass rush on a third down and broke free for a 16-yard gain that got just enough yardage for a first down. The Colts challenged that he stepped out before getting a first down, but replay upheld the call and Derrick Henry ran it in for a touchdown a couple of plays later.
The score is now 14-6 Ravens with just over four minutes to play in the first half.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s rushing numbers were down last season, but it didn’t take him long to make a play with his legs on Sunday.
Jackson sprinted five yards for a touchdown to cap Baltimore’s first offensive possession of the year and the Ravens lead the Colts 7-6. Jackson scored on a designed run called by the team’s new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle.
Jackson’s arm was involved in the biggest offensive play of the scoring drive. He got the ball to wide receiver Zay Flowers for a 49-yard gain that moved the team just outside the end zone. That big play came on their first offensive snap and they took over near midfield thanks to Chris Moore’s 42-yard kickoff return.
It was a successful start for the Doyle-Jackson partnership and they’ll try to keep things rolling in Indianapolis.
Daniel Jones is back at quarterback for the Colts and he led the team right to the end zone.
Jones went 5-of-7 for 59 yards to move the Colts down the field and running back Jonathan Taylor finished off the first possession of the season with a one-yard touchdown run. Spencer Shrader’s extra point was no good, so the Colts are up 6-0 on the Ravens.
Jones found Keenan Allen for his first completion of the season and then hooked up with Josh Downs to convert a pair of third downs. A pass to Alec Pierce got the Colts inside the 10-yard line and Taylor took care of the rest.
The Ravens will now try to answer in Lamar Jackson’s first drive with offensive coordinator Declan Doyle calling the shots.
A report on Sunday morning indicated cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was unlikely to be in the Steelers’ lineup for their season-opening game against the Falcons and official word on his status came 90 minutes before kickoff in Pittsburgh.
Porter is officially inactive for the game. Porter was listed as questionable with a back injury after spending all of training camp on the physically unable to perform list.
Porter’s inactivity this summer was also thought to be connected to his desire for a contract extension that never came together. That has reportedly opened the door to a trade as the Steelers have a team policy against negotiating contracts during the regular season.
Updates on where things stand with Porter for Week 2’s game against the Patriots and beyond will likely come this week. For Sunday, though, he’ll just be a spectator.
Falcons at Steelers
Falcons: QB Tua Tagovailoa, QB Michael Penix, DB Billy Bowman, DB Malcom DeWalt, LB Christian Harris, OL Ethan Onianwa
Steelers: CB Joey Porter Jr., QB Drew Allar, G Gennings Dunker, DL Kevin Jobity, DL Gabe Rubio, QB Will Howard
Bears at Panthers
Bears: QB Tyson Bagent, S Xavier Woods, OT Ozzy Trapilo, OL Jordan McFadden, DL Jayden Loving, DL Jamree Kromah, QB Miller Moss.
Panthers: TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, WR John Metchie, QB Haynes King, S Zakee Wheatley, OT Albert Reese, LB Patrick Jones, DT Cam Jackson
Buccaneers at Bengals
Buccaneers: DL DeMonte Capehart, CB Ayden Garnes, WR Jalen McMillan, G Billy Schrauth, DL Elijah Simmons, OT Justin Skule, RB Sean Tucker
Bengals: WR Ke’Shawn Williams, CB Josh Newton, OT Myles Hinton, C Connor Lew, TE Jack Endries, DT Landon Robinson, DE Shemar Stewart
Saints at Lions
Saints: TE Oscar Delp, RB Alvin Kamara, OT Mason Murphy, DE Cam Jordan, DT John Ridgeway, DT Khristian Boyd, QB Zach Wilson
Lions: CB Christian Izien, LB Jimmy Rolder, DE Ahmed Hassanein, CB Ennis Rakestraw, DL Mekhi Wingo
Bills at Texans
Bills: RB Ty Johnson, WR Skyler Bell, OT Jude Bowry, G Ar’maj Reed-Adams, DL T.J. Sanders, LB Mike Danna, S Jalon Kilgore
Texans: OL Febechi Nwaiwu, CB Collin Wright, LB Aiden Fisher, OL Nate Thomas, DL Jaden Crumedy, TE Brevin Jordan
Ravens at Colts
Ravens: QB Joe Fagnano, WR Devontez Walker, WR Elijah Sarratt, G Emery Jones, CB Chandler Rivers, DT Nnamdi Madubuike, LB Teddye Buchanan
Colts: LB Austin Ajiake, CB Jonathan Edwards, RB DJ Giddens, DE George Gumbs, QB Riley Leonard, G Dalton Tucker
Browns at Jaguars
Browns: QB Taylen Green, LB Justin Jefferson, CB Noah Igbinoghene, S Daniel Thomas, CB Toriano Pride, C Parker Brailsford, G Teven Jenkins
Jaguars: QB Quinn Ewers, S Jalen Huskey, DE Bryan Thomas, OL Daniel Faalele, TE Tanner Koziol, DE Wesley Williams
Jets at Titans
Jets: CB D’Angelo Ponds, RB Kene Nwangwu, K Blake Grupe, LB Trevin Wallace, LB Joseph Ossai
Titans: CB Jaylon Jones, OL Atonio Mafi, RB Nick Singleton, LB Cedric Gray, DT Jackie Marshall, OT Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, LB Owen Pappoe
I said it this week on PFT Live. And I’ll say it again now.
Anyone who supports the Protect College Sports Act opposes player rights.
Those who are speaking out in support of the bill won’t admit it. We’ll do it for them. Under the guise of ending chaos tracing to decades of antitrust violations that denied the players the ability to earn anything for their skills, sacrifices, and fame, the proponents of the bill want to limit the amount of money that goes to players, diverting it to the programs.
That’s the fundamental problem none of them will ever acknowledge. There are only so many dollars that can be siphoned from the piggybanks of the boosters. Every dollar that goes to an NIL fund is one less dollar that can go to the program. They want to reduce what can go to the players, maximizing what can go to the programs.
Unwilling to embrace a nationwide union that would allow the creation of a salary cap, transfer limits, and other rules aimed at creating order, the powers-that-be crave an exemption from the laws that prevent the universities from coming together and crafting anticompetitive — and anticapitalist — restrictions on the players’ earning power and freedom to transfer. And ESPN has been leading the conga line, with influential voices like Nick Saban and Pat McAfee openly pushing the Protect College Sports Act.
On Saturday, ESPN gave Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), one of the sponsors of the bill, an extended interview during College GameDay to press the case for passage of the proposed law. Cruz, not surprisingly, opened by pointing to the LSU and Brendan Sorsby situations as evidence of the current chaos. The loud reaction to those specific situations was always about mustering political momentum to get the bill passed.
Cruz also claimed that there currently is a "[s]piral of costs that is bankrupting almost every college program in the country. . . . They’re losing tens of millions of dollars.” That contention, to use a technical term, is horseshit.
There was no opposing viewpoint offered in response, other than the organic and incessant booing of Cruz (which included a one point a “Ted you suck!” chant). No time was provided for those who have concerns about the bill.
At one point, host Rece Davis posed a perfunctory question to Cruz regarding the absence of limits on compensation and mobility for coaches and administrators. Cruz offered an evasive word salad in response, and he received no pushback.
Contrary to what ESPN is leading its viewers to believe, the bill has real opposition. On Monday, Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) will conduct a press conference at noon ET with “college athletes, professional athlete unions, families and advocates” to address the problems with the bill.
From the email announcing the event, “participants will detail how the bill denies college athletes the rights and protections they are owed as workers and cuts off any path these athletes have to advocate for themselves — all so the NCAA, college athletic conferences and schools can consolidate money and power over athletes’ lives.”
Why wasn’t Murphy given equal time on College GameDay? Cruz and Murphy could have debated the merits and problems with the bill. While there are no safe bets in this age of bet! bet! bet!, it would be safe to wager the farm on ESPN not preempting McAfee’s show and taking Murphy’s press conference live as it happens on Monday.
The Colts have made a couple of Saturday moves in advance of Sunday’s matchup against the Ravens.
Linebacker Austin Ajiake has been downgraded from questionable to out. He popped up on the injury report on Friday as a non-participant.
Ajiake appeared in 16 games for Indianapolis last season, playing 70 percent of special teams snaps in those contests.
Additionally, Indianapolis has elevated cornerback Kenneth Harris to the gameday roster from the practice squad. An undrafted rookie out of Oklahoma State, Harris will be making his pro debut.
The Ravens officially ruled out two players for Sunday’s season opener against the Colts.
Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike and linebacker Teddye Buchanan will not play. Both are coming off season-ending injuries from 2025.
Madubuike’s delayed return was previously reported when coach Jesse Minter gave the team’s injury update during his news conference.
Buchanan was limited in practice all week. He tore the ACL and the meniscus in his right knee on Dec. 14 and sprained his LCL in the same knee.
He only returned to the practice field Aug. 17.
Trenton Simpson, listed as a co-starter on the depth chart, will start for Buchanan.
The Ravens, though, have only three healthy linebackers on their 53-player roster, so they are likely to elevate Carl Jones Jr. from the practice squad.
Wide receiver Devontez Walker (groin) is questionable after limited practices this week. Wide receiver Zay Flowers (hamstring) returned to full participation on Thursday and has no injury designation.
The team added defensive lineman Calais Campbell to the injury report as he took a rest day Friday.
Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike’s return to game action will have to wait a little bit longer.
Madubuike has been out since Week 2 of last season because of a neck injury that required surgery and head coach Jesse Minter said on Friday that he will not be playing against the Colts in the season opener. Madubuike had been doing team drills for the last couple of weeks, but Minter said he’s not all the way back to where he needs to be.
“He is really, really close,” Minter said, via the team’s website. “It’s been a great process for him to return from the injury that he had. We feel great about where he’s at, but we’re not going to play him this week.”
Travis Jones, Calais Campbell, Broderick Washington, John Jenkins, and Aeneas Peebles are the other defensive linemen on the roster in Baltimore heading into Week 1.
