As the new season kicks off, the Baltimore Ravens have an extremely busy schedule on the road in the first two months. This is a tough period they must work hard to overcome if they hope to turn around their three-year no-show at the playoffs. Immediately following that period is a whole month of November at their M&T Bank Stadium and then they will conclude their regular football season by playing their Week 15 and Week 17 games at their home turf.
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Week 1: Sunday, September 9th, 2018, vs. Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET
The first week of play will see Baltimore Ravens typically commence the season strong under head coach John Harbaugh at the M&T Bank Stadium. For a decade now, the Ravens are 5-1 in season curtain-raisers at their home ground. In a similar fixture just two years ago, the Baltimore franchise opened up at their home stadium with a 13-7 triumph over the Buffalo Bills. Record: 1-0
Week 2: Thursday, September 13th, 2018, at Cincinnati Bengals, 8:20 p.m. ET
For Ravens QB Joe Flacco, the Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati is one center of horrors. In the nine matches he has played at the Bengals’ backyard, Flacco has managed to throw six touchdowns and a paltry 13 interceptions for a disappointing 61.8 passer rating. In addition, only once has the 33-year old thrown for more than 200 yards at the same venue in his entire career! Record: 1-1
Week 3: Sunday, September 23rd, 2018, vs. Denver Broncos, 1 p.m. ET
The Broncos have turned out to be among the most woeful road teams in the league. Denver has lost a whopping 90% of their last 10 outings away from home. Although QB Case Keenum is capable of overturning that disappointing run, most pundits have doubted if he can come close to his career year achievements with the Vikings a year ago. And now that Baltimore will have extra rest time following their Thursday night clash, can Denver be expected to get anything out of this meeting? Not a chance. Record: 2-1
Week 4: Sunday, September 30th, 2018, at Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:20 p.m. ET
If Baltimore has had any takeaway lesson from Heinz Field, then it has to be that they need to master how to play the last moments of a game without falling apart. For instance, figuring out how to stop Ben Roethlisberger in the fourth quarter has always been a key challenge. In Roethlisberger’s last two outings against the Ravens in Pittsburgh, the prolific QB has completed a staggering 30 out of 43 passes — almost 70% — throwing for up to 392 yards, managing three touchdowns and zero interceptions in the fourth quarter — a 121.5 passer rating. Record: 2-2
Week 5: Sunday, October 7th, 2018, at Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET
Despite having moved from Cleveland 22 years ago, if the frequency by which Baltimore triumphs in Northern Ohio whenever they come visiting is anything to go by, then they seem to still enjoy some “home advantage” there. For a decade now, no QB has managed more wins at the Browns’ home ground than Flacco. He currently stands at 8-1 having accumulated 11 touchdowns and some five interceptions in the process. Record: 3-2
Week 6: Sunday, October 14th, 2018, at Tennessee Titans, 4:25 p.m. ET
Whenever the Titans are playing at Nissan Stadium, no opponent can claim to be too formidable for them to overcome. The Tennessee franchise has come out victors 10 times out of 12 matches at their home turf, with a 23-20 overpowering of Baltimore in 2017 being among these triumphs. During that impressing stretch, Marcus Mariota threw for 14 touchdown passes with four interceptions. Record: 3-3
Week 7: Sunday, October 21st, 2018, vs. New Orleans Saints, 4:05 p.m. ET
Did you know that Baltimore is the only team not to have fallen against Drew Brees in what will probably be a Hall of Fame football career? The dependable Saints’ QB is 0-4 against the Ravens, being able to throw nine touchdowns with eight interceptions in the process. But now that Brees is very aware of these facts, can he change things or history will repeat itself? Our prediction is that this time round he can come out smiling. Record: 3-4
Week 8: Sunday, October 28th, 2018, at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m. ET
At 18-5 (.783), Cam Newton tops the list of most successful QBs in the NFL with most won home matches in the last three years. He has scored a grand total of 50 touchdowns, with 38 passing and the remaining 12 rushing. This will be a much harder challenge than the Ravens’ last outing in North Carolina back in 2010. During that time, Brian St. Pierre started for the Charlotte-based franchise. Record: 3-5
Week 9: Sunday, November 4th, 2018, vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. ET
Baltimore hasn’t lost even a single home clash against the Steelers since the 2001-02 season. That is almost two decades ago, taking us back to the days of Tommy Maddox in Pittsburgh! And, the Ravens aren’t hosting this game just days after a tiring trans-Atlantic flight from London like in 2017. So, this should be pretty easy for the home team. Record: 4-5
Week 10: BYE
Week 11: Sunday, November 18th, 2018, vs. Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. ET
Under the guardianship of Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati has achieved 7-8 at the Ravens. That is three more triumphs than any other visiting team at the M&T Bank Stadium since 2003. However, Baltimore’s motivation will be boosted by a bid to seek revenge on their getting knocked off the playoffs by the Bengals in their home ground. Try mentioning “4th & 12” to any Baltimore player and see the kind of reaction you receive. Record: 5-5
Week 12: Sunday, November 25th, 2018, vs. Oakland Raiders, 1 p.m. ET
A season ago, Baltimore won at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, but it was a victory over EJ Manuel. This time round, the Ravens are coming up against Derek Carr, who is so far 2-0 against them. The 27-year old has thrown for seven touchdowns with just one interception versus the Baltimore team, achieving a 110.6 passer rating on that run. Record: 5-6
Week 13: Sunday, December 2nd, 2018, at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. ET
In the last two NFL seasons, Matt Ryan has had the sixth-best passer rating at home (with 102.4), throwing for 27 touchdown passes against opponents’ 11 interceptions. The last time the 33-year old QB came out against the Ravens in Atlanta was back in 2010, passing for 316 yards with three touchdowns. Record: 5-7
Week 14: Sunday, December 9th, 2018, at Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m. ET
The Baltimore Ravens will be pleased to see Patrick Mahomes replacing Alex Smith at the quarterback position for the Kansas City Chiefs. Under head coach John Harbaugh, Baltimore is 20-8 against any rookie or second-year QBs they have come up against, forcing a total of 27 interceptions. Record: 6-7
Week 15: Sunday, December 16th, 2018, vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. ET
Last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense was the worst in the league. Add to that the fact that the Bucs had an even worse record away from Raymond James Stadium and Flacco and the Ravens should have an even easier time. The Buccaneers achieved the worst points-per-game record on the road last season across the entire league at 29.2. Record: 7-7
Week 16: Saturday/Sunday, December 22nd or 23rd, 2018, at Los Angeles Chargers, TBD
This marks that time of the year when the Los Angeles Chargers start their late-season fade. Los Angeles is 5-8 in December since back in 2015, with only five teams having been performed worse during this period. As for the Ravens, this is their first league match in LA since October 1975, when the Colts succumbed to the Rams 24-13 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Lots of Baltimore fans are expected to travel and fill the StubHub Center to make it feel like a home clash for the traveling team. Record: 8-7
NOTE: The league management will make a decision by Week 8 on the exact date of this fixture. If they settle on Saturday, then the game will be played at either 4:30 p.m. ET or 8:20 p.m. ET and air live on the NFL Network. If Sunday, it will air on CBS at 4:25 p.m. ET.
Week 17: Sunday, December 30th, 2018, vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET
The Baltimore Ravens have beaten Cleveland in nine of their last 10 contests at the M&T Bank Stadium, with seven different Browns’ QBs: D. Anderson, B. Quinn, S. Wallace (twice), B. Weeden (twice), C. Shaw, C. Kessler and D. Kizer falling during that stretch. Next on the Ravens’ chopping board is former Baltimore backup T. Taylor or, alternatively, a rookie first-round selection. Record: 9-7