The Baltimore Ravens beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-7 Saturday night at M&T Bank Stadium as rookie tight end Matt Hibner and a handful of first-year teammates carried the offense in Jesse Minter's debut as head coach.
Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley found Hibner wide open down the left seam on Baltimore's first offensive snap of the night, and the fourth-round pick turned it into a 29-yard gain — the first catch of his NFL career. Huntley went 3-for-3 for 39 yards on the drive before it stalled and ended in a missed 49-yard field-goal try from second-year kicker Tyler Loop.
Hibner kept going from there, finishing with five catches for 61 yards.
"The coaching staff put me in a great position," Hibner said.
Rookie quarterback Joe Fagnano got the most extensive run of any Baltimore passer and made the most of it, going 22-of-28 for 224 yards with a touchdown and an interception. His touchdown went to third-round receiver Ja'Kobi Lane, who continued his buzzy summer by hauling in all three of his targets for 38 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown grab in traffic that he turned into an emphatic celebration in the end zone.
Rookie running back Adam Randall got in on the scoring too, shedding multiple tacklers on a 4-yard touchdown run, and the Ravens added a third touchdown on the ground to build a 24-0 lead before Philadelphia got on the board late in the fourth quarter.
Elijah Sarratt, the fourth-round pick from Indiana, finished with six receptions for 66 yards, but also had a fumble while fighting for extra yards.
"It just goes to show what we've been brought into," Lane said afterward. "I'm super grateful to not only be part of a rookie class like this, but just a team in general."
Hibner's and Lane's debuts are an early sign the Ravens' skill-position rookie class can contribute right away. Baltimore traded up 21 spots in April's draft to grab Hibner out of SMU after losing both Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar in free agency, and new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle — a former tight ends coach whose Chicago Bears group topped 1,000 receiving yards last season — has made clear during camp that he wants to feature the position behind veteran Mark Andrews. Saturday's opening drive was the clearest evidence yet that it can work early.
The win pushes Baltimore's all-time preseason record against Philadelphia to 10-6.