BALTIMORE — The Ravens hope to have a happy Christmas and take another step toward securing a trip to the postseason by defeating the team that once called Baltimore home many years ago.
Indianapolis comes to town playing out the string to the tune of a five-game losing streak while John Harbaugh’s team is looking to secure its fifth victory in six games and clinch its first winning season in three years on Saturday. A win over the Colts would move the Ravens into a wild-card spot while waiting to see how Tennessee and Buffalo fare on Sunday.
As expected, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (knee) is inactive after missing practices all week and being designated as doubtful on the final injury report. Second-year wideout Chris Moore is expected to start in Maclin’s place opposite veteran Mike Wallace.
Running back Terrance West is active for the first time since Week 5 as the Ravens are likely to lean more heavily on the running game with wet field conditions. Starter Alex Collins was not on this week’s injury report, but he was clearly banged up in last week’s win at Cleveland, making West’s activation even more logical.
Rookie third-round picks Tim Williams and Chris Wormley are once again healthy scratches.
Indianapolis will be without starting wide receiver Donte Moncrief (ankle), starting right tackle Denzelle Good (knee), and starting cornerback — and former Raven — Rashaan Melvin (hand) after all three were ruled out on Thursday. The Colts also placed center Ryan Kelly and linebacker Jon Bostic on injured reserve earlier this week, further depleting their active roster.
Saturday’s referee is Tony Corrente.
According to Weather.com, the kickoff forecast in Baltimore calls for rain showers and temperatures around 60 degrees with winds 10 to 15 miles per hour and the precipitation expected to taper off as the evening progresses. Tarps covered the grass field at M&T Bank Stadium until roughly three hours before kickoff.
In a surprise move, the Ravens are wearing their alternate black jerseys with white pants for their nationally-televised Saturday game. The NFL typically allows teams to wear an alternate or throwback uniform only twice per season — not counting the “Color Rush” initiative for Thursday night games — but this will be the third time we’ve seen the popular alternate jerseys in 2017. Indianapolis is wearing white jerseys with white pants.
Saturday marks the first meeting between these teams since 2014 when the Colts won 20-13 in Indianapolis. The last game in Baltimore came in the 2012 postseason with the Ravens prevailing in a 24-9 final. The Colts lead the all-time regular-season series by an 8-3 margin.
Below are Saturday’s inactives:
BALTIMORE
WR Jeremy Maclin
CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste
LB Tim Williams
OL Jermaine Eluemunor
OL Maurquice Shakir
DE Bronson Kaufusi
DE Chris Wormley
INDIANAPOLIS
WR Donte Moncrief
CB Rashaan Melvin
TE Jason Vander Laan
RT Denzelle Good
OL Mark Glowinski
DT Caraun Reid
S Clayton Geathers
Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
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