The NFL released the full 2020 schedule and with it, the schedule for the Baltimore Ravens. Though we’ve known which opponents the Ravens would face this season, the order in which they came and how many primetime games Baltimore would be featured in will have a dramatic impact on what their final record could be.
With most teams putting the final touches on their 90-man rosters, we have a much better idea of the talent levels for each of the Ravens’ 2020 opponents. With that in mind, the writers here at Ravens Wire each threw out their prediction for the season, with some of us going pretty bold.
Matthew Stevens – 12-4
The already strong teams on Baltimore’s schedule didn’t really get any weaker and the bad teams will take time to improve. What looks to be the easiest schedule in the NFL might not prove to be that by the time the season finishes but the Ravens have some pretty easy cakewalks this year as long as they show up hungry and ready to play every week. I already tossed out my game-by-game final score predictions and have Baltimore once again destroying a bunch of teams en route to a solid 12-4 record.
But at this point, the regular season isn’t really the important part. They’ll be judged solely by how they perform in the postseason. Baltimore is talented enough to practically guarantee a playoff spot barring some serious misfortunes. But they’ll need to prove they can step up in the postseason, something they haven’t done the last two years.
It doesn’t matter if they go 16-0 or 10-6 this season, if they’re one-and-done in the playoffs, fans will be livid.
Neil Dutton – 14-2
There are a couple of games on the docket where, with a critical eye, you could see Baltimore dropping. Away at the Philadelphia Eagles is never easy, the New England Patriots still own a talented defense and the Tennessee Titans may have permanently scarred the Ravens after their playoff win over them. But I have faith in this Baltimore team to overcome those obstacles. The two games I have them actually losing are to the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, as well as the Thanksgiving clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But even that is assuming Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is healthy and playing at a competent level.
A seven-game win streak between Week 4 and Week 12 will break the back of this schedule and put the Ravens in contention for the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
Kevin Oestreicher – 15-1
It’s pretty hard to imagine a more dominant team than the one the Ravens had in 2019, but I believe that they are well positioned for an even better year in 2020. The team faces the easiest strength-of-schedule in the entire NFL based on 2019 records. Plus Baltimore revamped the defensive line and added more weapons for quarterback Lamar Jackson, making this team better on paper than it was last year.
I believe Baltimore’s only loss comes in Week 1 to the Cleveland Browns, but then a 15-game win streak put the Ravens right where they left off last year: in prime position to make a Super Bowl run.
Alex Bente – 11-5
Consider me a tad cautions here, but the Ravens seem to have a history of falling short when expectations shoot through the roof. For the latest example, look no further than the January playoff debacle against the Titans.
That said, they’ve also had a tendency to go above and beyond when counted down and out. And this Ravens team has done that in spades under Lamar Jackson, proving doubters wrong time and again as the young quarterback and his team have progressed in their early relationship. Maybe times have truly changed.
Do I see a repeat of the lighting they captured in a bottle last season? No. But on paper, they are still the best team in the division (by a wider margin now), and that alone gives them the edge to take the title again. But the Ravens have a target on their backs, no question, and as a result, they may drop an unsuspecting game or two in their 2020 campaign.
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