Baltimore's offense looked terrific in the opener, but injuries at wide receiver are concerning

Lamar Jackson dropped back on third-and-16, and as the pocket collapsed, he somehow ducked between a couple of pass rushers before finding a running lane and taking off for the first down.

“Playing football,” the two-time NFL MVP said. “Just playing football.”

From the start, it was clear that the engine of Baltimore's offense was back. By the time the game was over, Jackson and the Ravens had amassed 506 total yards, making Jesse Minter a winner in his head coaching debut, 41-23 over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

Jackson threw for 324 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a score, looking as spry as Baltimore had hoped after an injury-plagued 2025. The only real downers for the Ravens: a slew of offensive line penalties and two potentially problematic injuries to the receiving corps.

“I think the confidence grows when you prepare well,” Minter said. "We put a lot of time over these last couple of weeks into this game plan, with it being the opener and the extra time that you have. So, you want to see the preparation pay off, and I felt like it really did in all three phases.”

For a little while, Zay Flowers appeared headed toward an all-time great receiving day. He had a 49-yard catch-and-run on Baltimore's first offensive play that set the Ravens up at the 2. His 54-yard touchdown reception made the score 21-6. After five possessions, he had five catches for 150 yards — but his day was also done because of hamstring issues.

Rookie Ja’Kobi Lane had a touchdown catch wiped out by a penalty, and he ultimately left with a wrist injury.

The usual names produced in a big way. In addition to Jackson's work at quarterback, Derrick Henry ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns. Flowers was brilliant when he was in the game, and Mark Andrews had four catches.

The Ravens looked extremely well prepared on offense under new coordinator Declan Doyle.

“We have so many gifted players,” Andrews said. "So many tools at his disposal, and he is using them. It is just so much fun, and we are going to continue to get better and focus and make big plays.”

The Ravens committed 10 penalties for 86 yards, almost all on offense. A hold on new center Jovaughn Gwyn took a touchdown off the board. Rookie Vega Ioane, a first-round draft pick, was called for holding twice in the first half.

After a shaky preseason that led the Ravens to bring in some competition, Tyler Loop made field goals of 57 and 45 yards Sunday. The former was a career long.

“Obviously, you have to make kicks and things like that, and in the preseason, he had a couple of mishaps,” Minter said. "But just the work ethic and the trust in the process in so many different things that he’s been working on, I expected nothing less. I am really happy for him that he performed that way today.”

Baltimore was solid defensively at times and forced two turnovers, but the Ravens allowed 102 yards rushing on 20 carries. Minter will surely see room for improvement.

Devontez Walker (groin) was inactive, and with Flowers and Lane injured the wide receiving group was pretty depleted by game's end. Practice squad elevation Chris Moore contributed on kick returns and with a 53-yard catch, but Baltimore could have issues if it is without Flowers next weekend.

This was the first time in franchise history the Ravens had a 300-yard passer, a 150-yard receiver and a 100-yard rusher in the same game.

Baltimore plays its home opener this weekend against New Orleans. The Saints lost 31-30 at Detroit in overtime in Week 1.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Baltimore Ravens' Derrick Henry celebrates his touchdown run with Ja'kobi Lane during the first half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Baltimore Ravens' Ja'kobi Lane is stopped on a fourth down play during the first half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Baltimore Ravens' Zay Flowers gets past Indianapolis Colts' Charvarius Ward for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter shakes hands with Lamar Jackson after an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson congratulates Derrick Henry on his touchdown run during the first half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Monday that Russian drone strikes near the Ukraine-Poland border — one of which hit a train shortly after senior visiting officials had passed through the same station — would drive the military alliance to increase its support for Kyiv, calling Sunday's attacks a sign of Moscow's growing desperation.

The strikes “close to NATO territory” show Russian President Vladimir Putin’s "desperation and also his desire to sow fear and terror,” Rutte said at NATO’s political headquarters in Brussels. “Russia is growing increasingly reckless as it continues its terrible war against Ukraine.”

Rutte pledged to increase support for Ukraine and bolster the 32-nation alliance’s own defenses along its long eastern border with Russia.

“He thinks that he can stop us from supporting Ukraine and that he can undermine our unity. He is wrong,” the NATO chief said of Putin.

Sunday’s strikes near the Polish border are the latest in a string of incidents that officials say point to a deliberate pattern of escalation by Putin, as Moscow tests NATO’s response while pressing its offensive in Ukraine.

Rutte's comments came as Poland pledged increased security along its border with Ukraine after a wave of Russian drone strikes near the frontier, including two that landed within kilometers of Polish territory.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned Sunday that Moscow appears poised to intensify its campaign against Ukraine’s borders with European countries. Ukraine is under mounting pressure from Russia’s intensifying air campaign that uses ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to pierce defenses.

“These coming weeks and months will be a time of very intensified actions on the Russian side, and unfortunately we cannot rule out that this escalation will also affect our territory,” Tusk said Sunday after a governmental security briefing in Warsaw. He issued a similar warning on Thursday.

Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Monday in a post on X that the Polish army recovered what was believed to be a Russian military drone from the Baltic Sea near the coastal village of Jaroslawiec.

Polish officials said intelligence reports, including a CIA briefing last week, suggested Russia was likely to attack border points and intensify sabotage actions inside European countries as part of its efforts to discourage partners from supporting Ukraine.

Tusk said he would consult NATO allies on preparing a potential joint response.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski underscored the alliance’s military edge in a social media post, saying that in the event of Russian aggression against NATO, European NATO air forces, without U.S. participation, would be capable of destroying half of Russia’s oil refineries faster than Ukraine.

Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk described Sunday’s drone strikes as a serious escalation from Russia. He told broadcaster TVN24 on Monday that any spillover into European countries could take the form of sabotage or a sharp intensification of hybrid warfare “on a scale that we have not seen before,” or other actions along NATO’s borders.

The warnings followed a strike Sunday on a train near the Ukraine-Poland border, minutes after a diplomatic delegation that included former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt had passed through the same station, according to Ukraine’s state rail operator. A second strike hit near a separate border crossing point between Poland and Ukraine.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, said Monday that the drone attacks near Poland's border were “clearly meant to scare Western countries from supporting Ukraine.”

“We should show that we are there for Ukraine and we are not scared,” she said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked Monday about the strike on the train near the Polish border, said Russian forces were operating “across the entire territory of Ukraine and continues to do so — and will continue to do so.”

Peskov noted the potential role of Global South nations in a settlement, saying “any country can use its influence on the Kyiv regime to encourage it to show greater flexibility.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi each expressed willingness to help broker a settlement during recent meetings with Putin, who briefed them on the situation in Ukraine, Peskov said.

Peskov also addressed U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian diesel fuel facilities, saying “any call on the Kyiv regime to stop strikes on civilian economic infrastructure can only be welcomed.”

Trump on Sunday called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, saying the attacks are causing a global shortage. He spoke after diesel prices in the U.S. hit a record on Friday, soaring past an average of $6 per gallon.

Morton reported from London. Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this report.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrives for the EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana, File)

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, right, speaks during a joint news conference with Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Ukrzaliznytsia Railway Company Press Office, a locomotive damaged in a Russian drone attack is seen at Yahodyn railway station near Ukraine's border with Poland, Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Ukrzaliznytsia Railway Company Press Office via AP)