The Ravens host the Saints on Sunday at 1 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium, and this one already feels like more than a routine Week 2 game. Baltimore is trying to steady a home season that slipped badly last year, and Jesse Minter gets his first regular-season test in front of the home crowd.
Roquan Smith has been through this kind of moment before. In his Ravens debut against the Saints in 2022, after being acquired from the Chicago Bears a week earlier, he made five tackles and played 76% of the defensive snaps as Baltimore won 27-13 in New Orleans. The Ravens led 14-3 at halftime, Lamar Jackson passed for 133 yards and a touchdown and ran for 82 yards, and Baltimore took a 6-2 lead in the all-time series that now frames Sunday’s rematch. WJZ Channel 13 will show the game in Baltimore, with CBS carrying Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta and Aditi Kinkhabwala. Radio coverage will be on WBAL 1090 AM/101.5 FM, 98 Rock at 97.9 and Sirius XM Channel 81 or 193.
The reason the Saints game today is drawing attention is simple: both teams arrive with offense that can move the ball, but Baltimore is also managing injuries that could change the way it plays. The Ravens gained 506 yards in Week 1, yet Zay Flowers may not play because of a hamstring injury, Ja'Kobi Lane will miss at least the next four games with a wrist injury, and Ronnie Stanley and John Simpson both missed practice time this week. That puts pressure on Rashod Bateman, Devontez Walker, Chris Moore, LaJohntay Walker and Elijah Sarratt to help out wide, while Derrick Henry’s 144 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1 give Baltimore a clear way to lean on the run if the passing game is stretched thin.
There is a similar edge on the other side. The Saints lost 31-30 to the Detroit Lions in Week 1, but Tyler Shough led the NFL in passing yards and Chris Olave led the league in receptions and receiving yards, which is enough to make Baltimore pay attention even with Trent Hendrickson slowed by a finger injury and missing the first two practices of the week. Wiggins was a shutdown corner in Week 1, and that matters because the Ravens are trying to answer a harder question than just whether they can win Sunday: can they protect home field while shorthanded and finally make M&T Bank Stadium feel like a place visitors have to work to survive?
If Baltimore wants the afternoon to look like Smith’s debut in 2022 rather than another uneasy home result, the answer will have to start early. Kickoff is set for Sunday at 1 p.m., and the first half should tell the Ravens whether their injuries are a detour or a warning.
