Colts' revamped defense delivers another bad opening-day performance in 41-23 loss to Ravens

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts spent an entire offseason reshaping the defense.

They signed multiple free agents to beef up the defensive line. They drafted two linebackers they projected as potential starters. They waited for two promising defensive backs to get healthy after training camp injuries cost each their entire 2025 seasons.

But on Sunday, it didn't look like a new and improved unit. Instead, the Colts allowed 506 total yards and 202 yards rushing in another troubling season-opening loss.

“This is a good gut check for the entire team, every single one of us,” Pro Bowl defensive tackle and team captain DeForest Buckner said after an underwhelming reintroduction in a 41-23 loss to Baltimore. "We’ve got to be better, including myself. We’ve got to be better each and every day, have a sense of urgency and move on to the Chiefs.”

It's a familiar refrain for Indy fans, who have celebrated just one opening-day win in the past 13 years. And to many, this one seemed like more of a dud than the promised fresh start. They responded with a cascade of boos as they watched more of the same.

Yes, the Colts sacked two-time MVP Lamar Jackson twice and Buckner recovered Jackson's lone fumble. But they again struggled to contain him or their AFC South nemesis Derrick Henry.

Jackson registered a 124.2 passer rating by throwing for 324 yards and one touchdown while faking out the Colts defense on his 5-yard TD run. He delivered the play of the game when he avoided a sack by ducking under two would-be tacklers and scrambling for a first down on third-and-16.

Henry, meanwhile, rumbled for 144 yards and three scores as the Ravens successfully played keep-away for nearly 35 1/2 minutes. They punted once in the first half, twice in the third quarter and scored on seven of 12 possessions before kneeling down to end the game.

And even the Colts knew they weren't good enough.

“Definitely disappointing,” All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner said. "All of us, we know we can make the plays that we need to, especially those types of plays. We have to be better.”

Jonathan Taylor. On a day when little went right for the Colts, the 2021 NFL rushing champion showed he's still a force against a defense loaded up to stop him. Taylor had 19 carries, 98 yards and two TDs, navigating his way through and around defenders with increasing frequency after losing a fumble in the second quarter.

Special teams. The first quarter was a disaster for this group. Spencer Shrader missed his first extra-point attempt, then helped make a tackle on a 43-yard kickoff return that set up Baltimore's first score. A holding penalty pinned the Colts at the 16-yard line, and an 11-yard punt return set up another Ravens score. Shrader did make a 58-yard field goal later.

Keenan Allen. The six-time Pro Bowler has been in town for less than a month, but he was Daniel Jones' favorite target in Week 1. Allen hauled in all six passes thrown his way, gaining 32 yards. Those numbers may increase as he gets more familiar with Jones and the offense.

CB Justin Walley. The second-year player was one guy the Colts thought could be part of the solution when he returned from a season-ending injury last year. But his NFL debut didn't go according to plan. He was beaten by Zay Flowers on a 49-yard pass on Baltimore's first play. Flowers had five receptions, 150 yards and a TD in the first half. Walley will try to rebound next week.

New No. 1 receiver Alec Pierce played in his first game since having ankle surgery in March but told reporters he suffered a bruised hand and wrist during the game. Coach Shane Steichen said Monday that Pierce was OK. Rookie linebacker CJ Allen, Indy's top draft pick, dressed but did not play after being hindered in training camp with calf and hamstring injuries. CB Charvarius Ward said Monday he had a headache after opting to use a Guardian Cap in the game in an attempt to avoid getting another concussion. He plans to continue using it.

5 1/2 — A year ago, Indy's run defense was ranked seventh in the league. On Sunday, they allowed the Ravens to produce 5 1/2 yards per carry.

The good news for the Colts is it's only one game. But the performance creates even more urgency for cleanup duty this week before Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs visit.

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Baltimore Ravens' Derrick Henry is stopped by Indianapolis Colts' DeForest Buckner and A.J. Haulcy during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indianapolis Colts' Seth McGowan is stopped by Baltimore Ravens' Carl Jones after a long kick off return during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Baltimore Ravens' Mark Andrews tries to get past Indianapolis Colts' Cam Bynum during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Baltimore Ravens' Derrick Henry runs for a touchdown past Indianapolis Colts' Sauce Gardner during the second half of an NFL football game 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)

NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic-led states and cities filed lawsuits Monday challenging a federal rule set to begin Friday that they say gives President Donald Trump’s administration broad discretion to deny green cards to immigrants who rely on public assistance for food, healthcare, housing and other basic needs.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading a coalition of 21 other states in one of the suits, said the rule would force needy immigrant families to choose between seeking assistance and seeking legal status in the country. California, Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico and Wisconsin are among the states involved in the legal challenge.

“This rule preys on that fear and counts on families forfeiting the food assistance, health care coverage, and other public benefits to which they are legally entitled,” she said Monday at a news conference in City Hall alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and immigrant advocates.

Mamdani filed a separate suit with leaders of other U.S. cities, including Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle. He said the rule would have a “chilling effect” not just on immigrants seeking legal status but other residents of the nation’s largest city.

“The new public charge rule seeks to push immigrant families away from the programs that have kept people fed and healthy for decades,” the mayor said. “New Yorkers will be afraid to see a doctor or ask for help they are legally entitled to. That fear will not stop at the families that the federal government is targeting.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which is named in the lawsuits, dismissed the dire warnings.

“Let’s get this straight, sanctuary states are terrified they will lose federal funds because hundreds of thousands of illegals and noncitizens might remove themselves from American welfare programs,” the agency said in a statement. “We’re shaking in our boots over this supposedly terrible outcome.”

The lawsuits challenge DHS’s plan to revive a “public charge” rule the Republican president originally imposed during his first term, only to have it reversed under his successor, Democratic President Joe Biden.

The lawsuits, which were both filed in federal court in Manhattan, argue the new rule is “arbitrary and capricious,” exceeds the DHS’s statutory authority, and departs from the longstanding meaning of the federal government’s public charge provision.

Specifically, James said, the rule unlawfully gives immigration officials broad discretion to consider a wide range of public benefits when making their decisions on immigrants seeking legal status in the country.

She said the rule lets immigration officers count nearly any public benefit, used for any length of time, against a green card applicant -- even if it’s a U.S. citizen family member who is taking advantage of the benefit.

That means a parent’s green card application could be at risk simply because their U.S. citizen child used state-provided health insurance or participated in a school’s free lunch program, James said.

“This new rule sweeps away more than a century of settled law to unlawfully broaden the definition of ‘public charge’ in a way that Congress never intended,” added Steve Banks, the city’s corporation counsel.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the rule a “cruel policy.”

Federal law already requires those seeking permanent residency or legal status to demonstrate they will not rely on public benefits.

The new rule does not specify the programs that could be taken into account. It simply says officers, “using good judgment and discretion,” will make “individualized, fact-specific public charge inadmissible determinations, based on a totality of the alien’s circumstances.”

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Associated Press reporters Sophie Austin in Sacramento, Calif. and Cybele Mayes-Osterman in Chicago contributed to this story.

Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during an announcement of a lawsuit filed by New York and 21 other states challenging the federal government's new public charge rule, on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during an announcement of a lawsuit filed by New York and 21 other states challenging the federal government's new public charge rule, on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Attorney General Letitia James announce a lawsuit filed by New York and 21 other states challenging the federal government's new public charge rule, on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during an announcement of a lawsuit filed by New York and 21 other states challenging the federal government's new public charge rule, on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during an announcement of a lawsuit filed by New York and 21 other states challenging the federal government's new public charge rule, on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)