The 2026 NFL season finally began last week, so we’ve had our first taste of football. The Week 2 slate isn’t quite as stacked, but one of the most intriguing games of the day is the one between the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens. While Tyler Shough and Co. lost their opener, they nearly completed an incredible second-half comeback and showed enough fight to potentially hang around with Lamar Jackson and his teammates, who opened the new era under head coach Jesse Minter in commanding fashion.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET. Here’s a preview, prediction and pick for Saints vs. Ravens in NFL Week 2 on Sunday.
Saints vs. Ravens prediction, preview
In Week 1, the Saints looked like they’d get blown out of the by the Detroit Lions. Just five minutes into the third quarter, the home side took a firm grip on the game with a 21-0 lead. What followed was an awesome rally by New Orleans that saw Tyler Shough force overtime with a late touchdown drive to tie things with a minute remaining on the clock, capping off a 24-point second half. After allowing a touchdown but getting into the end zone themselves with 1:34 remaining in OT, Saints head coach Kellen Moore elected to go for two – and the win – but the offense ultimately came up short to lose 31-30.
Despite the loss, it was a great first effort to begin year two under Moore. There were plenty of positives to take away, such as how Shough finished with a 35-for-56 line, 410 passing yards and three touchdowns despite facing plenty of adversity and taking five sacks. The connection he and Chris Olave have formed over their 10-ish games together also really stands out, especially after the wideout caught 10 passes for 182 yards last Sunday. It was a nice day for Devaughn Vele in the WR2 role as he finished with seven grabs for 69 yards. Were there negatives in Week 1 as well? There were. Travis Etienne Jr. saw just nine carries, though he also caught seven passes and was the most involved name in the backfield. The defense clearly needs some work, but ultimately salvaged the day with a solid second half and allowed a grand total of 369 yards despite how dire things looked for a bit.
The Ravens are under new leadership with Jesse Minter now at head coach following the departure of John Harbaugh this past offseason. Boy, did the new era start with a bang, too. Baltimore beat the Indianapolis Colts 41-23 on the road in Week 1, taking an early lead and never really looking back.
There were a ton of positives to glean from that game, but first and foremost, new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle might be a gem. It’s early, but the Ravens posted 506 yards on the day while eclipsing 300 through the air and 200 on the ground, also averaging a cool 7.9 yards per play. They went 3-for-9 on third downs but also didn’t end up in those situations too often, hitting plenty of explosive plays to keep the chains moving while dominating in time of possession. Lamar Jackson was in MVP form with 324 passing yards and a touchdown with his arm, pitching in another 40 yards with a score via his legs. Derrick Henry looked ageless as always with 144 yards and a hat trick of touchdowns, but it was Zay Flowers who really stole the show with five catches for 150 yards and a touchdown in one of the best performances of his career. Defensively, the Ravens were dominant and held Indy to just 251 yards, limiting Daniel Jones to only 166 passing yards with an interception and a pair of sacks. The prowess against the pass was notable, to say the least.
Saints vs. Ravens pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Ravens as a -8.5 home favorite against the spread with -395 odds to win on the Moneyline. The Saints are a +310 road underdog to win outright with the game total set at 46.5 combined points.
The injury report for this game is definitely one to keep an eye on. For New Orleans, Olave (hamstring) and standout pass-rusher Chase Young (calf) are both questionable to play. As for Baltimore, Flowers (hamstring) is doubtful while tackle Ronnie Stanley (toe) is questionable along with star EDGE Trey Hendrickson (finger). That’s a laundry list of names already, all of whom are key to the game plan.
It’s tough to really project this one based on that extensive list. If either of Olave or Flowers don’t play, that’ll mark a huge loss to their respective offenses – it looks like the latter won’t go, and for what it’s worth, rookie receiver standout Ja’Kobi Lane hit the IR this week and will miss the next four games. If Young or Hendrickson don’t suit up, the same goes for the pass rush on either side.
Even with that in mind, though, there may actually be some value on taking the Saints to cover. The 8.5 points here are quite a few, especially after we saw this team rally in the second half despite staring down a major deficit last week. If they’re mostly healthy, I really like their chances of playing this one fairly closely since they stuck around with a high-powered Lions offense even when things got tricky. Flowers being doubtful and the absence of Lane leaves Rashod Bateman as the top wideout for Baltimore, so the offense may not be nearly as explosive as what we saw last week if the Saints can key on the run. For that reason, I’d lean towards New Orleans to cover.
