Ravens' offense is creating explosive plays in more ways than one

The Baltimore Ravens’ offense was relentless in Week 1. Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle dialed up a masterful game plan, shredding the Indianapolis Colts’ defense for 506 total yards in a 41-23 win. The day was loaded with explosive plays.

That’s exactly what Doyle has been hoping to get out of his unit. He said they were hunting explosive plays, and it didn’t take long to find them. In fact, he found them early and often.​

Doyle’s offense is all about attention to detail, and once the players nailed their assignments, the Colts had an ultra-tough time keeping up. From pre-snap motion to play-fakes, Doyle brought every trick out in the season opener.

Baltimore Ravens’ offense is already looking extra special under Declan Doyle

Declan Doyle could be well on his way to something special. It might be way too early to say that, but what he pulled off on Sunday was something out of a movie.

Obviously, everyone’s talking about the explosive plays. It’s hard not to, as Baltimore’s offense ranked in the 98th percentile for explosive play rate, per The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia. How did they do it, though?

It all starts with the motions, shifts, and eye candy. You really had no idea where the ball was going at any given moment, or if it was a run or pass. Doyle did a tremendous job of hiding his intentions and consistently kept the Colts off-balance.

His best play of the day was undoubtedly this dirty double-fake screen pass to Derrick Henry.

That’s just unfair.

Declan Doyle is putting Lamar Jackson in a position to succeed

In the passing game, it was easy for Lamar Jackson to find a rhythm. And when he gets into a rhythm, good luck. He finished his 2026 debut completing 17-of-25 passes for 324 yards and 1 passing touchdown, along with 40 yards on the ground and 1 rushing score.

The key to the Week 1 explosion was Doyle putting Jackson under center.

Since 2024, when Jackson is under center, he’s posted a 61% success rate (first in the NFL), a +0.43 expected points added (first), and 10.2 yards per attempt (third). Check out this breakdown from Warren Sharp below.

Against the Colts, the Ravens operated under center 67% of the time, per CBS Sports’ Jacob Gibbs. That’s the highest rate of his career.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that when Doyle puts the two-time MVP in the position he’s at his best, the results follow. When you’re an elite dual-threat quarterback like Jackson, operating under center and drawing up play-fakes makes the offense simply unpredictable.

Talk about putting your players in a position to succeed.

Ravens' attention to detail is setting the offense up for success

There’s one under-the-radar element in Doyle’s Week 1 masterpiece that shouldn’t go unnoticed, too: blocking downfield and finishing plays.

It felt like every time a Ravens player broke into the open field, their teammates were unrolling the red carpet for big gains.

It happened on Jackson’s miraculous sack escape, where he broke free from an Indianapolis car crash in the backfield. While Jackson was on the move, offensive lineman Vega Ioane flattened a defensive lineman, and tight end Mark Andrews made the finishing block for the third-down conversion.

Later, wide receiver Zay Flowers took one for a 54-yard touchdown, which was thanks in part to tight end Matthew Hibner clearing a lane and wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane giving Flowers just enough room to drive into the end zone.

And one more time. Derrick Henry’s longest run of the day went for a 34-yard touchdown, and wide receiver and special teams ace Chris Moore was there escorting Colts safety Cam Bynum out of the way.

That’s what attention to detail looks like. Jesse Minter and his coaching staff have been preaching that relentless mentality all offseason, and it’s quickly becoming a staple of what this team does.

When everyone’s holding up their end of the bargain, there might be no stopping this offense. This was just Declan Doyle’s play-calling debut, too. There should be way more in store, and Ravens fans have plenty of reason to be excited.

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