The Indianapolis Colts and the Baltimore Ravens meet Thursday in NFL preseason action from M&T Bank Stadium. This will be the first preseason matchup of the 2025 campaign for both teams. Here’s a Ravens vs Colts prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Ravens vs Colts pick.
Indianapolis Colts Betting Preview
The Colts are coming off a pretty disappointing campaign in 2024. Indianapolis ended up finishing just 8-9 overall, landing in second place among the AFC South. That marks a nine-year drought for the division title. Making matters worse, the Colts’ playoff elimination fate was sealed in Week 17 during an upset loss to the New York Giants, who at the time had the worst record in the league. The 4-6 start through the first 10 games certainly didn’t set the tone for the season, but if you’re an eternal optimist you could point to the Colts’ 4-3 run across their final seven appearances as a potential building block heading into the 2025 campaign.
Speaking of the 2025 campaign, Indianapolis will attempt to reach the playoffs this year following a four-year absence. They’ll once again be under the tutelage of head coach Shane Steichen. Tight end Tyler Warren comes into the fold as the team’s first-round draft selection, and he’ll be joined by some intriguing young pieces like DE JT Tiumoloau and RB DJ Giddens. That said, the general consensus on the Colts’ potential 2025 fate is pretty dour. Even the modest 7.5-win total projection seems a bit of a steep hill to climb in many pundits’ eyes.
Baltimore Ravens Betting Preview
Over on the Ravens’ side, they had a pretty great regular-season run in 2024. Baltimore would end up at an enviable 12-5 mark by season’s end, however it was a step back from the 13-win heights of the 2023 campaign. Nonetheless, the Ravens still took first place in the AFC North—even after an 0-2 start. Nine of those victories came versus teams with winning records. Following their second consecutive division title, Baltimore dispatched the rival Steelers 28-14 in the Wild Card Round and advanced to the Divisional Round. Unfortunately for the Ravens, their season ended shortly thereafter following a tight two-point loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Head coach John Harbaugh is back at the helm for his 18th season with the Ravens, and he’ll have an even rougher schedule to deal with this year. It’s playoffs or bust for Baltimore—and anything less than a Super Bowl berth could be seen as a disappointment. The Ravens will need to get right down to business as soon as the regular season begins, as they’ve got the Bills on tap for Week 1.
Indianapolis Colts Player Prop Facts
- Jonathan Taylor has scored at least one touchdown in 13 of his last 14 appearances with the Colts as home favorites against AFC opponents.
- Jonathan Taylor has recorded 91+ rushing yards in each of his last eight appearances with the Colts as favorites.
- Daniel Jones has recorded 225+ passing yards in three of his four previous September appearances with his team as a favorite.
- Michael Pittman Jr. has recorded 56+ receiving yards in seven of his last eight September appearances against AFC opponents.
- Jonathan Taylor has recorded 111+ rushing and receiving yards in each of the Colts’ last four Sunday games.
- Daniel Jones has recorded 22+ completions in each of his last three appearances against AFC opponents.
- Alec Pierce ranked 1st amongst qualified players for Yards Per Reception (22.3) last season.
Baltimore Ravens Player Prop Facts
- Derrick Henry has scored two or more touchdowns in four of his last five regular season appearances with his team as an underdog against AFC East opponents.
- Derrick Henry has scored at least one touchdown in each of his last 11 appearances against AFC East opponents.
- Lamar Jackson has recorded 237+ passing yards in seven of the Ravens’ last eight Sunday games.
- DeAndre Hopkins has recorded 21+ receiving yards in each of his last 21 appearances with a total points line of at least 50.0.
- Derrick Henry has recorded 140+ rushing and receiving yards in each of the Ravens’ last four regular season games against AFC opponents.
- Lamar Jackson has recorded 54+ rushing yards in seven of the Ravens’ last eight September road games.
- Lamar Jackson has recorded 20+ completions in each of his last five regular season appearances with the Ravens as underdogs.
- Derrick Henry ranked T1st in the NFL in rushing touchdowns (16) last season.
Ravens vs Colts Prediction
I’ll just lean toward the Ravens here. Preseason games are a real crapshoot—especially in the opener—but with that said pretty much all facets should lean toward Baltimore having an advantage. They’ve got a relatively low amount of turnover this year, and plenty of skilled veterans in key positions. Harbaugh has things down to a science by this point, and provided the team can get through the season relatively injury-free we should be seeing them make another strong playoff run. Lamar Jackson will once again serve as the lynchpin in the offense, however it remains to be seen how his duels with the likes of Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes will pan out. On the defensive side, another season under coordinator Zach Orr should help generate some chemistry, consistency and cohesion.
As for the Colts, they’ve made some tweaks in the offseason and will hopefully be headed in the right direction as 2025 pans out. Granted, there’s not a ton of hope in Indianapolis when it comes to fielding a dominant offense, but the defensive unit might just be good enough to keep the team in games late. There are plenty of question marks, and anything over eight wins should be seen as a positive step. For now though, I don’t think they’ll keep a cover pace on the Ravens.