Ravens Edge Colts in First Preseason Test of 2025 as Rookie Suffers Serious Injury

Ravens Edge Colts in First Preseason Test of 2025 as Rookie Suffers Serious Injury originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Baltimore Ravens football is back! ... kind of.

On Thursday night, the Ravens hosted the Colts in the first preseason matchup of the season for both teams as Baltimore edged out a late comeback attempt by Indianapolis 24-16 at M&T Bank Stadium.

We didn't see any of the usual suspects for either team as the majority of the starters were sitting for both teams.

New backup quarterback and former Dallas Cowboys signal caller, Cooper Rush, got the nod under center as Lamar Jackson sat on the sideline to watch.

The Ravens' first series ended with a Rush interception on the second play of the game on a deep ball attempt to wideout Dayton Wade as Colts' nickel back Alex Johnson outjumped the receiver for the ball.

The ensuing Indy possession resulted in a 53-yard Spencer Shrader field goal. Anthony Richardson Jr. started under center for the Colts and failed to impress, going 2-of-3 for 21 yards in the game and being sacked once for an eight-yard loss.

Running back Keaton Mitchell dominated the second Ravens series on a seven-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that resulted in a Mitchell 22-yard touchdown run that gave Baltimore a 7-3 lead with 8:10 left in the first quarter.

The teams exchanged punts on the next two possessions, but lightning struck on the Colts' second punt of the game as Ravens return man LaJohntay Wester returned the punt 87 yards for another Ravens score and a 14-3 lead.

Indy answered with a 33-yard Shrader field goal, then Devin Leary entered the game at QB for the Ravens and he threw an interception to linebacker Joe Bachie.

The turnover didn't hurt the Ravens' cause, however as the Baltimore defense forced a punt.

The Colts got back on the scoreboard with another Shrader field goal, this time from 39 yards.

The Ravens got back into the end zone on a Rasheen Ali two-yard touchdown run for a 21-9 lead with 1:26 left in the half.

The Colts missed a 52-yard field goal to end the first half.

The teams again exchanged punts to open the second half before the Colts found the end zone for the first time with a Khalil Herbert one-yard touchdown run for a 21-16 Ravens lead.

Rookie kicker Tyler Loop then missed a 46-yard field goal attempt wide left that set the Colts up nicely, but the Ravens defense held again and forced a punt.

The rest of the third quarter and first half of the fourth quarter was uneventful as both teams punted back and forth until the Ravens intercepted Colts rookie quarterback Riley Leonard with 7:38 left in the game that set up a Tyler Loop 52-yard field goal to extend the lead to 24-16 for the final score.

The Ravens were not unscathed in the preseason matchup as rookie cornerbak Bilhal Kone had to be carted off the field near the end of the first quarter with what was described as a "gruesome" knee injury.

Kone was covering Colts receiver Ashton Dulin down the left sideline when he fell in the end zone and immediately grabbed his left leg.

The trainers put Kone's leg in an air cast before he was carted off. He is in competition for one of the final cornerback spots for the Ravens.

Next up, the Ravens will head to Arlington to face the Dallas Cowboys at 7 p.m. ET on Aug. 16 at AT&T Stadium.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 8, 2025, where it first appeared.