The Baltimore Ravens (2-0) will try to keep their winning streak alive to stay atop the AFC North before facing two divisional rivals on the road in the next couple of weeks. It will take more than a collective effort after ruling out 10 starters, but there is nothing your superheroes can't do.
The Indianapolis Colts (1-1) will try to win their second matchup in as many weeks while going above .500 for the first time this season, even though they'll have to do that without QB1 Anthony Richardson active.
With just a few hours between now and kick-off time come Sunday, here are some facts and stats you must know about this Week 3 matchup between Colts and Ravens scheduled for 1 p.m. ET (if the weather doesn't interfere) at the M&T Bank Stadium.
1. This is the 28th season of Ravens football in Baltimore. The Colts played there for 31 years
If you're young, you don't remember about this, but it is as true as it gets. The Colts spent 31 seasons in Baltimore from the founding of the team in 1953 all the way through the 1983 season, one year before they relocated to Indianapolis.
The city of Baltimore tried to keep the team in town but they couldn't outbid the offer submitted by the city of Indianapolis to poach the team from Maryland. Thus, the move.
Everybody was mad at it back then, but eventually, Baltimore got what they wanted (and deserved) and landed the Ravens in 1996 in what came to be known as "The Move" when the original Cleveland Browns were moved to the city (not the franchise, but their assets and player contracts) before the Browns were brought back to life in the 1999 expansion draft.
Meanwhile, the Colts are already playing their 40th season in Indianapolis in 2023.
2. The Ravens are 2-0 to start the season for the first time since 2020
Baltimore started the season with an expected victory against the Houston Texans in Week 1 and then followed that up with a much more hard-battled win on the road at Cincinnati.
Sitting atop the AFC North boasting a 2-0 record with no other divisional rival having two wins, the Ravens will try to win a third consecutive game on Sunday to go 3-0 for the first time since 2016.
The last time that happened, though, things didn't end up quite nicely for Baltimore as the Flock went on to finish the season with a mediocre 8-8 record and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.
3. Indianapolis has an all-time 10-7 winning record against the Ravens
The Ravens have not had it easy historically when facing the Colts. Things have changed in the last 10+ years, mind you, but Indy completely dominated the Flock and cut the Ravens' wings for much of the aughts.
In fact, the Colts got to win eight consecutive games against the Ravens from Oct. 2002 through Jan. 2010, playoff matchups included.
As aforementioned, the Colts have struggled mightily to beat the Ravens of late, though, and from 2011 on the record is a demoralizing 5-1 in favor of Baltimore including an AFC Wild Card game victory for the Ravens in 2013.
The only loss Baltimore suffered against Indy in that span was a 13-20 defeat at Indianapolis in 2014, just nine months before the Ravens kicked the Colts out of the prior postseason on their way to winning their second-ever Super Bowl.
4. Lamar Jackson is 2-0 against Indianapolis
Jackson doesn't have a large resume of matchups against the Colts, but when he's faced them he's always come out as a winner.
Indianapolis reached halftime ahead in the scoreboard on both occasions, but the two times they met the Ravens they went on to collapse and fall to Baltimore. The Ravens have outscored the Colts 45-15 in second halves alone.
Jackson has completed 56-of-66 passes against the Colts. He's already racked up 612 passing yards against them, and there is a chance he will break the 1,000-yard barrier if he puts on a perfect game this weekend. He's also thrown four touchdowns against no interceptions.
Lamar hasn't been able (or simply didn't want) to run that much against Indianapolis with the Colts limiting his rushing numbers to "only" 120 yards on 27 carries combined including a touchdown scored.
5. The last time these two met, Lamar Jackson passed for 442 yards and 4 TDs
That surely was one to remeber, wasn't it?
Indianapolis went up 25-9 through the first three quarters of play, was in a commanding position, and everything pointed toward the first victory of the Colts over the Ravens since 2014... but they blew the lead with Lamar Jackson ending their dreams with an extraordinary performance.
Jackson completed 37-of-43 passes back then, reached 442 yards passing, tossed four touchdowns, and adding wood to the fire he gashed the Colts' defense with 62 rushing yards through 14 carries.
That game was by far Lamar's best passing outing topping his second-largest yardage by 118 yards and falling just one touchdown short of matching five scoring passes (something he's done three times throughout his career to date).
The Ravens won 31-25 limiting Indy to three fourth-quarter points while scoring 16 themselves sending the game to OT and scoring a game-winning touchdown on a Jackson-Marquise Brown five-yard connection.
6. The Colts have allowed 574 passing yards on a 68.4 completion rate in 2023
Indianapolis might find it nice to play under bad weather and heavy rain on Sunday judging by how incredibly bad the Colts have been at stopping the pass game.
Only the Seahawks, Eagles, and Chargers have allowed more passing yards to their opponents than the Colts through Week 2. Indy also ranks in the bottom 10 in completion percentage allowed to start the season.
The Colts have been much better at stopping opponents trying to rush the rock, though, ranking as the seventh-best time in rushing yards per game allowed to their foes through Week 2.
Facing a Ravens team whose backfield is ravaged by injuries but that features an extraordinary scrambling quarterback in Lamar Jackson, there is a chance this trend gets reversed in Week 3.
No need to mention that (weather allowing) the Ravens' air offense led by new OC Todd Monken might be in for some fireworks.
7. The Ravens have allowed the seventh-fewest yards and points per game
For as many injuries as the Baltimore defense has been forced to navigate (and what is ahead), the truth is that the backups have stepped up to the plate in astonishing ways.
Last week, Geno Stone was fantastic replacing Marcus Williams. In Week 1, Ronald Darby debuted excellently covering up for Marlon Humphrey. And the two starters in the middle of the linebacker line, Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen have been the best pairing at the position in the league by a mile.
All of that combined has made possible what still sounds ridiculous: the Ravens have not conceded a freaking first down in any of the two first quarters they have played through Week 2.
8. A win will keep the Ravens leading the AFC North no matter what
Baltimore started the season with a victory over Houston and followed that up with another win last weekend, on the road at Cincinnati.
The Steelers got mauled in Week 1 and then beat the Broncos in Week 2. Cleveland demolished Cincy in Week 1 before that, and the Bengals have yet to win a game.
All of the above have the Ravens in sole possession of the no. 1 seed in the AFC North boasting the only 2-0 record in the division. Another victory would put them up 3-0 and make it impossible for the rest of their rivals to overtake the Flock.
Even a loss, depending on the final scores, would still be enough for Baltimore to stay put atop the division three weeks into the season. Not bad for a start!
9. Indianapolis has the second-lowest blitz rate but it's tied for the fifth-most sacks
Talk about contrasting data points. The Colts have only blitzed an opposing quarterback 11 times this season, the second-fewest times across the league through Week 2. Considering they have defended 79 pass attempts, that yields the second-lowest blitz rate to date at a meager 12.2 percent of plays.
On the other hand, Indy has sacked opposing quarterbacks eight times already, the fifth-most league-wide entering Week 3.
That's all you need to know about the Colts defensive frontline, which doesn't need that much help from the edge in order to get to the quarterback.
This might be one of the most important points and a deciding factor on Sunday as the battle in the trenches is looking like the most important one for Baltimore to win if they want to get a third consecutive win.
10. The Colts and Ravens are tied at 26 points per game through Week 2
Unless there is a tie (spoiler: not happening) this will read differently by the end of the day as one team will inevitably score more points than the other on Sunday and come out as the winner of the Week 3 matchup.
The Ravens have played two very balanced games scoring 25 points in Week 1 and then 27 against the Bengals last Sunday. The Colts, on the other hand, scored 21 in Week 1 and then reached 31 last weekend.
At the end of the day, though, both offenses have been able to score 21+ points in each of their four games played to date.
It's important to note how the Raven didn't allow Houston to score double-digit points on them, though, limiting the Texans to only nine points in Week 1 before they scored 20 against the Colts on Sunday.
That might be the key stat that defines what is about to happen inside the M&T Bank Stadium. It's not about the offense, but the defensive side of the ball, and Baltimore has looked strong on that front even though missing tons of bodies in the past half a month.
That, along with the fact that Indy won't have their QB1 available on Sunday after ruling Anthony Richarson out on Friday could be crucial and a deciding factor in this matchup.