NO vs BAL Prediction, Odds and NFL Picks for Sunday, 09/20/26

Baltimore heads into Week 2 as one of the biggest favorites on the entire slate after a dominant 41-23 win over Indianapolis, and it's easy to see why. Lamar Jackson looked every bit the MVP-caliber quarterback he's been for years, and Derrick Henry ran through a Colts front that simply couldn't match his physicality.

New Orleans, meanwhile, is coming off a gut-punch of a Week 1 loss, falling 31-30 in overtime to Detroit after digging itself out of a 21-point hole.

That comeback is exactly why I'm not ready to write the Saints off against a number this big. Tyler Shough threw for 410 yards, and Chris Olave torched Detroit's secondary for 182 receiving yards. This isn't a broken offense searching for answers. It's a team that just hung 30 points on a good defense and lost in the final seconds.

Baltimore's defense is talented, but it isn't the shutdown unit it was a few years ago, and an 8.5-point cushion feels like too much respect for a Ravens team that needed a fast start against a clearly inferior Colts roster to pile up its Week 1 margin.

Road environments at M&T Bank Stadium are never easy, and Baltimore should win this game. The question is whether they win it comfortably enough to cover a number this large against a quarterback who just torched a solid Lions defense for over 400 yards.

Saints vs Ravens prediction: Saints +8.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to +7.5.

Both of these teams put on a show in Week 1, and I don't see much reason to expect a sudden defensive awakening from either side in Week 2. Baltimore hung 41 points on Indianapolis behind a fully operational Jackson-Henry combination, while New Orleans and Detroit combined for 61 points in their overtime thriller. That's two offenses trending in the same direction heading into Sunday.

Baltimore's offense doesn't need an explanation. Jackson is a dual threat, Henry remains one of the league's most punishing runners, and Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews give Jackson two more weapons who can win on their own.

New Orleans showed enough against Detroit to suggest Shough and Olave can move the ball on anybody, and even a Ravens defense playing with a lead is likely to give up chunk plays against that kind of receiving talent.

The only real path to the Under here is a Baltimore blowout that turns into a running clock in the second half. Given how well New Orleans moved the ball in Week 1, I'm not banking on that happening early enough to matter.

Saints vs Ravens prediction: Over 46.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable up to 48.