Only two quarterbacks have made their first NFL start against the Ravens. One of them is now a professional pickleball player, and the other’s career consisted of just that one game.

Ryan Finley played eight games across parts of two seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals, and midway through the 2019 season got the nod at home after Andy Dalton was benched earlier in the week. Predictably, his debut did not go well as he completed 16 of 30 passes for 167 yards with one touchdown, one interception and was sacked four times in a 49-13 drubbing. Connor Shaw didn’t fare any better. Starting for injured Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel in 2014, he was 14 of 28 for 177 yards with an interception and was sacked four times in a 20-10 loss.

It’s fair to say that the career of this year’s No. 2 overall draft pick, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, will go a little better no matter the outcome of Sunday’s season opener at M&T Bank Stadium.

Still, when it comes to rookie quarterbacks playing against the Ravens, the results are lopsided. Baltimore is 21-7 against first-year passers since John Harbaugh took over in 2008 and only two players — the Chicago Bears’ Mitchell Trubisky in 2017 and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Kenny Pickett last season — have won in Baltimore in that span. More bad news for Stroud: The Ravens are 6-0 at home against the Texans, with their most recent victory a 41-7 thumping in 2019.

As for why the Ravens have often made life hard on rookie quarterbacks, there are many reasons, including first-year signal callers having to adjust to the speed and complexity of the NFL, often being on a bad team and facing a defense that is typically one of the best in the league.

Last season, Baltimore faced two rookie quarterbacks, Pickett and the Atlanta Falcons’ Desmond Ridder. In Pickett’s first game against the Ravens last December, he got knocked into concussion protocol by middle linebacker Roquan Smith on a first-quarter sack. Ridder, meanwhile, completed 22 of 33 passes for 218 yards but was sacked twice and failed to find the end zone while facing 10 blitzes and being pressured four times.

“The complexity of defenses in the National Football League are leaps and bounds of what you’re going to see in college,” Ravens defensive line coach Anthony Weaver said. “You’re forced to be vanilla because you just don’t have time on task in the college game. Those guys are forced to do so many other things.”

What’s Baltimore’s plan for Stroud?

“First and foremost, you’re trying to hit him as much as humanly possible,” continued Weaver, a former defensive end with the Ravens and Texans. “Then you’re going to try and confuse them presnap.”

But Stroud also presents a unique challenge.

The 6-foot-3, 218-pound former Ohio State standout is as dynamic with his arm as he is his legs. A two-time Heisman Trophy finalist in 2021 and 2022, he completed 23 of 34 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns and ran eight times for 70 yards in the College Football Playoff semifinal against eventual national champion Georgia earlier this year. During his career for the Buckeyes, he threw six touchdowns in a game on three occasions and also holds the school record for most passing yards in a game with 573.

“He’s a tremendous player,” said Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who had the same role with Georgia last year. “Last time I saw him, we were in a barnburner with him in the [College Football] Playoff.

“But just in general, in any profession, it’s hard when you first start — that’s every position. Your rookies are going to have bumps. It just happens that he’s in control of the offense, [so] it’s more obvious.”

But Stroud didn’t exactly struggle in his first college start, either. Against Big Ten rival Minnesota in 2021, he completed 13 of 22 passes for 294 with four touchdowns and one interception to lead the Buckeyes to a 45-31 win on the road.

The quarterback can also take solace that at least some rookies before him have had success against the Ravens.

Blaine Gabbert, Robert Griffin III, E.J. Manuel, Dak Prescott and Baker Mayfield all beat Baltimore in their rookie years during Harbaugh’s tenure. Prescott was most impressive, completing 27 of 36 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns in what was the only double-digit win among the group.

“You dream about this forever,” Stroud said this week. “To go to Baltimore and play against a great opponent like the Ravens, I know they’re licking their chops.”

How can he prevent that dream from becoming a nightmare? Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is a player Stroud has idolized since seventh grade, and the rookie said he hopes to get a few minutes with the 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player after the game.

Hearing about Jackson’s debut might help a little, too.

“I remember going into the game [feeling] nervous,” Jackson said of his first career start, which came in 2018 at home against the Bengals as he stepped in for an injured Joe Flacco. “I had butterflies until actually my first snap, but after the first snap, I think the nervousness went away, and I was just ready to go.”

Indeed. Jackson was 13-for-19 for 150 yards through the air with one interception, but it was his legs that made the difference as he rushed for 119 yards on 26 carries to lift the Ravens to a 24-21 victory.

But for Stroud to have that kind of success against the Ravens is a lot to ask.

Even without All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who is recovering from foot surgery, and depth concerns at cornerback as well as edge rusher, Baltimore’s defense is again expected to be one of the NFL’s best. The Texans also have one of the league’s weaker offensive lines. And defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald has quickly proven to be one of the game’s bright young minds.

“It’s tough — first game of the year — just not as much information that you’re used to acting on,” Macdonald said when asked about facing Stroud. “You’re trying to blend last year’s stuff to this year’s stuff and try to anticipate how they’ve attacked us before, but at the end of the day, we’re just trying to hone our craft so we’re sharp on our stuff. Ultimately, we’re trying to make them react to how we play.”

The prospect of teeing off against a rookie also has a couple of Ravens veterans eager to introduce themselves to Stroud.

“Of course [I’m licking my chops],” outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney said. “The challenge for us is to make sure he doesn’t see what he wants to see, give him something different to see.”

Added Smith: “[I’m] going to prepare like [I would for] any other quarterback, so we’ll be ready. … I’m just excited to get out there [on] opening day, and I would love to put our talents out there and show them exactly what we can do, and it will be his ‘Welcome to the League.’ ”