Jesse Minter’s head coaching debut goes off without a hitch as Ravens beat up on Colts

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jesse Minter couldn’t have asked for much more out of his debut as coach of the Baltimore Ravens.

The offense started fast and finished strong. The defense kept the Indianapolis Colts at arm’s length. The special teams produced big plays, and when the 41-23 victory was over, Minter celebrated on the sideline with his coaching mentor, his father, Rick, a senior defensive analyst on the Ravens’ staff.

For Baltimore’s first new coach in 19 years, it was the perfect start.

“It’s surreal a little bit, honestly,” Minter said. “I don’t know if it’s actually hit me. It’s a blessing to be where I’m at. There’s such appreciation that we have to the organization that gave us this opportunity. Having my dad on the sideline at the end, that was a really special moment.”

The Ravens didn’t look like a team still getting acclimated to a new coach and three new coordinators.

Two-time MVP Lamar Jackson took advantage of strong field position as the Ravens ran 15 of their first 17 plays in Colts territory. He threw for 229 yards in the first half, hooking up with Zay Flowers five times for 150 yards and a nifty 54-yard catch-and-run that came in the middle of six first-half scoring drives.

And Jackson provided a signature highlight when he slipped away from two defenders who nearly had him on the ground to scramble for a first down on third-and-16 in the first quarter. Three plays later, Derrick Henry scored on a 4-yard run to make it 14-6 — the first of his three TD runs.

“The offense came out on fire,” Minter said. “The confidence grows when you prepare well. We put a lot of time into (Sunday’s) game because it’s the first one of the year, and you have the time to prepare. You want to see the preparation pay off. I felt like it did in all three phases.”

That was equally true for Minter’s defense, which limited the Colts to 112 total yards in the first half and 251 for the game. The Ravens forced two turnovers, harassed Daniel Jones repeatedly and kept the Colts out of sync as Jones played for the first time since suffering a torn right Achilles tendon in December.

“Obviously, didn’t play well enough on offense,” Jones said after going 19 of 31 for 166 yards with one TD and one interception. “Didn’t move the ball well, didn’t score, didn’t take care of (the ball). A lot of things we set out to do every game, we didn’t accomplish. So, I think, a lot to learn from and grow from here.”

Last year, Baltimore missed the playoffs for just the second time in eight years under former coach John Harbaugh. And it certainly was a welcome change from last season’s 1-5 start, Jackson’s subpar performance and the heartbreak of a missed field goal on the final play of the season that kept them out of the playoffs.

“It was a great start,” Henry said. “We know what we’re capable of. We just had to go out and do it. It wasn’t perfect. But it’s definitely a great game to build off of and carry confidence into next week.”

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