Tag: Baltimore Ravens schedule

NFL sets kickoff time for Ravens-Steelers season finale in Week 18

The NFL just announced that the Baltimore Ravens will host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday in the season finale

The Ravens are division champions and the top seed in the AFC, and now John Harbaugh’s crew will spend the next few days trying to figure out how to keep the Steelers out of the playoffs.

The NFL just announced that the season finale at M&T Bank Stadium will be played on Saturday afternoon as part of a double-header.

The Texans and Colts will face off on Saturday night, with both teams having a shot at the AFC South title, depending on what happens with Jacksonville.

Baltimore could rest critical starters and contributors while knowing that the Wild Card Weekend bye would mean the team may go almost a month without any significant game action.

The last time John Harbaugh’s group took that approach, they were upset at home by the Titans in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Who would the Ravens play if 17th game is added in 2021?

The NFL appears set to add a 17th game to the 2021 schedule which means the Baltimore Ravens will get to play the Los Angeles Rams

One of the portions of the new collective bargaining agreement the NFL and NFLPA signed last offseason was the ability to expand the season to 17 games. Though it was never formally written when the 17-game schedule would be implemented, many expected it to start in 2021 as the NFL begins negotiations on their broadcast contracts with television networks. If that happens, there would be a new challenger added to the Baltimore Ravens’ 2021 schedule.

On Monday, Peter King of NBC Sports wrote that a 17-game NFL season is “highly likely in 2021” as the TV partners and NFL schedulers have been working under that assumption this offseason. In that scenario, the AFC North would face the NFC West with teams that finished in the same position in the standings facing off. Having both finished second in their respective divisions, the Ravens would take on the Los Angeles Rams.

The last time Baltimore played the Rams was two seasons ago in a 45-6 Monday night beatdown in Los Angeles. Lamar Jackson threw for 169 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for 95 yards. Cornerback Marcus Peters had recently been traded from the Rams to the Ravens and made his former team pay, notching one of the two interceptions Baltimore had on Jared Goff that night.

However, with Los Angeles recently agreeing to a trade with the Detroit Lions for quarterback Matthew Stafford, the Rams might not be as much of a pushover this time around. It would be a very interesting matchup between two teams expected to fight for their respective division crowns and a spot in Super Bowl LVI.

What hasn’t been made clear yet is where the game would be played. Under the 16-game schedule, teams play an equal number of home and away games. If the schedule is expanded to 17 games, half the league would be forced to play an extra road game while the other half would get an additional home game.

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Ravens’ Week 13 game vs. Cowboys rescheduled again

Due to other schedule changes, the Baltimore Ravens vs. Dallas Cowboys Week 13 game was rescheduled again.

With the change in schedule for the Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12, quite a few other schedules had to change as well. One of them is Baltimore’s Week 13 game against the Dallas Cowboys, according to a tweet from the team. The Ravens will now face the Cowboys on Tuesday, Dec. 8. at 8:05 p.m. ET.

Baltimore has been dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19 since last week, with the first positives being running backs Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins on Monday. With more players going on the Reserve/COVID-19 list today, the Ravens will have put at least one player on the list every day for a week and have had 22 in total go on the list this week alone.

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Ravens players frustrated over NFL’s handling of outbreak, pushed back against playing Steelers Tuesday

Baltimore Ravens players held a meeting to share their frustrations about how the NFL handled the outbreak and their quick turnaround.

The Baltimore Ravens have been dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak over the last week that has seen their Week 12 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers be rescheduled twice prior to today. With the game originally scheduled for Tuesday (it’s been rescheduled again), Baltimore’s players drew a line in the sand.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens players had a meeting with NFLPA representatives about the health and safety of such a quick turnaround. Though Baltimore last played a football game more than a week ago, they have yet to practice outside of a walkthrough prior to the outbreak. The Ravens had tried to hold a practice on Monday morning but the NFL canceled it. According to Rapoport, players were adamant that they get at least one day of practice before playing against the Steelers.

That wasn’t the only concern and complaint from Baltimore’s players, however. The Ravens haven’t had a single day without a positive COVID-19 test since last Monday. In total, Baltimore has placed 22 players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list over the last week in addition to several staff members testing positive as well. According to Rapoport, Baltimore’s players were concerned about playing a game despite not having any days with negative tests.

It’s unclear if the Ravens’ concerns were a driving factor for the NFL rescheduling the game again or not. However, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun noted players had been frustrated with how the league handled the outbreak and there was concern they’d refuse to play on Tuesday.

It wouldn’t be the first time Baltimore’s players had shown some frustration over the league’s handling of the outbreak and the schedule this week. Defensive end Derek Wolfe had shared his exasperation in a now-deleted tweet that questioned the league’s stance on player health and safety prior to the game being rescheduled.

We’ll see if the game does indeed happen Wednesday. But that would seemingly involve no further positive COVID-19 tests and there being some time for Baltimore to practice.

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Ravens vs. Steelers still on schedule for Tuesday despite COVID-19 outbreak

The NFL has no plans to reschedule the Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Week 12 matchup despite new positive tests over the weekend.

Both the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers have seen players and coaches test positive for COVID-19 over the last week, forcing the NFL to reschedule their Week 12 matchup twice. Yet, with even more people continuing to test positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, the NFL is sticking with a Tuesday kickoff. According to Penn Live’s Aaron Kasinitz, a league spokesperson said the NFL has not considered rescheduling the game a third time.

The Ravens saw outside linebacker Matthew Judon and tight end Mark Andrews test positive on Sunday while the Steelers had a coach and running back James Conner test positive on Saturday. In total, Baltimore will have at least 22 players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list once Judon and Andrews are added, seeing 20 players either test positive or be labeled a “close contact” in the last week alone.

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The NFL has tried to buy time for Baltimore’s outbreak to subside, rescheduling the game from Thanksgiving night to Sunday afternoon before needing to push it back to Tuesday, Dec. 1. Even if the league wanted to reschedule the game again, they likely couldn’t manage to fit it into next week’s lineup and would instead have to create a Week 18 for make-up matches.

With a continuation of the outbreak for both Baltimore and Pittsburgh into the weekend, it would make sense for the NFL to have a backup plan in place. But with the league still having the Denver Broncos set to play without a healthy quarterback and other teams being forced to play despite their own respective COVID-19 outbreaks, the league has sent a pretty clear message that it’ll do whatever it can to play every game this season.

Ravens defensive end Derek Wolfe and Andrews seemingly questioned the league’s stance on player health and safety before their Week 12 game against the Steelers was rescheduled. As we get closer to Tuesday’s currently-scheduled kickoff, we’ll see if any other players raise public objections.

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Ravens vs. Cowboys Week 13 game rescheduled

With the Baltimore Ravens’ Week 12 game getting rescheduled to Tuesday, the NFL also moved the Ravens vs. Dallas Cowboys Week 13 game too.

With the Baltimore Ravens continuing to have positive COVID-19 tests this week, the NFL has rescheduled their Week 12 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers twice now. That means the Ravens’ Week 13 game against the Dallas Cowboys — originally scheduled for Thursday — needed to be rescheduled as well. According to the NFL’s press release, Baltimore will now face Dallas on Monday, Dec. 7 at 5:00 p.m. ET, broadcast on FOX, NFL Network, and Amazon.

It’s been quite the calendar change for the Ravens this week. They were supposed to play the Steelers on Thanksgiving night, a rare holiday matchup for Baltimore. However, the Ravens saw several players test positive for COVID-19 between Monday and Wednesday, prompting the league to reschedule the game to Sunday afternoon in response. Unfortunately, Baltimore had more positive tests late in the week, forcing the NFL to reschedule the game once again, this time to Tuesday.

With the schedule change pushing the Ravens vs. Steelers matchup into next week, that created too short of a turnaround for Baltimore to take on Dallas on Thursday. That meant yet another schedule change, this time with Week 13’s game being pushed back as well.

While the frequent schedule changes are quite a lot to follow, the Ravens and NFL certainly aren’t out of the woods yet. Baltimore has had positive COVID-19 tests every day this week and the outbreak isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. If the Ravens continue to see players test positive over the weekend, Tuesday’s game wouldn’t be a lock to happen either.

The NFL has created a contingency plan in the event there are cancellations due to COVID-19, according to Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports. NFL owners unanimously voted for an expansion to the playoff format from 14 teams to 16 in the postseason if all meaningful games cannot be played in the regular season. That would seemingly be a last-resort scenario for the NFL but one that’s nice to have in the league’s back pocket if necessary.

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Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Week 12 game rescheduled for Tuesday

With even more cases of COVID-19 late this week, the NFL has rescheduled the Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game for Tuesday.

After starting Week 12 expecting to play on a short week, the Baltimore Ravens will get an extra few days of rest. With the Ravens in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak that has seen players and/or staff members test positive every day this week, the NFL has decided to once again reschedule their Week 12 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the game is being moved from Sunday to Tuesday night. The decision can’t have been made lightly. The league had already postponed the game on Wednesday, moving it from Thursday night to Sunday afternoon.

Though there was hope this game could still be played as scheduled, Baltimore shut down its training facility until Monday at the earliest after seeing a minimum of 12 players either test positive for COVID-19 or be considered a “close contact” this week. With the outbreak seemingly not yet finished, there was little the league could do to keep players and staff members from both teams safe while still having a football game on Sunday.

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The move will also impact the Ravens’ Week 13 game against the Dallas Cowboys that was originally scheduled to be played on Thursday. However, with Baltimore now playing on Tuesday, that game will undoubtedly be rescheduled as well, though a date hasn’t been set yet.

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Ravens vs. Steelers Thanksgiving game rescheduled for Sunday after COVID-19 outbreak

The Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Thanksgiving game has been moved to Sunday after Baltimore suffered a COVID-19 outbreak.

With the Baltimore Ravens in the middle of a COVID-19 outbreak, the NFL has officially rescheduled their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead of playing on Thursday night (Thanksgiving), the league has moved the Ravens vs. Steelers game to Sunday, though a specific time has yet to be set.

Baltimore has placed four players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list since Monday and is expected to have a few more players and staff members join today with more positive tests. While the NFL has allowed teams to play games after players and staff members have tested positive for the virus, the Ravens’ situation seems to still be ongoing.

Baltimore currently has six players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list as of this morning with more expected to be added by this afternoon’s transaction report.

While the players who tested positive still won’t be available for this game, postponing allows the team and league to mitigate the spread any further for the time being. That means they’ll be able to see just how extensive the outbreak is and better plan to ensure there’s no further spread within the team or to Pittsburgh’s roster and staff.

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Ravens vs. Steelers still on schedule for Thanksgiving despite positive COVID-19 tests

After the Baltimore Ravens placed three players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, some were wondering if the NFL would adjust the schedule.

The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers square off on Thanksgiving night, a short week to prepare after their Week 11 games. But with several Ravens players testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday, there was some doubt as to whether the game would still be played Thursday. However, there has been no movement in the schedule, according to Baltimore coach John Harbaugh on Monday.

The Ravens placed Mark Ingram, J.K. Dobbins, and Brandon Williams on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday after Dobbins and Ingram tested positive for the virus. The team had to shut down the facility in the morning but Harbaugh noted it’s back up and running again after contact tracing had been finished.

The NFL has clearly been reluctant to move games this year, especially in the second half of the season where bye weeks are few and far between. However, the league did change Baltimore and Pittsburgh’s schedule around after the Tennessee Titans had an outbreak earlier in the season following their breaking protocols. With games going on as planned despite other outbreaks, the NFL has been under some fire for how they’ve handled the virus this season and what has been an inconsistent-looking plan that has lacked any transparency.

While the NFL could still change their minds, a schedule change gets less likely with each passing hour. As it stands now, you’ll be able to see the Ravens vs. Steelers on Thanksgiving night just as previously scheduled.

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It’s time to reassess the Ravens’ playoff and Super Bowl chances

With the Baltimore Ravens’ injuries getting out of control, it’s time to lower expectations for the 2020 season.

If you look at the Baltimore Ravens purely from an outside perspective, they still very much look like one of the few Super Bowl contenders in the NFL. They’re 6-3, have the reigning MVP at quarterback, a smothering defense, and the best kicker in the game. But dive in a little further and you’ll find quite a few holes, a massive number of injuries, some sloppy play, more injuries, inconsistencies on both sides of the ball, and a couple more injuries. Though Baltimore started the season as Super Bowl favorites, it’s finally time to adjust expectations.

The Ravens could fix just about every issue they have. Through a combination of better execution and coaching, Baltimore could decrease the number of penalties, shore up the inconsistencies on defense, and begin to look more like last year’s offense. At this point in the season, those types of massive and sweeping changes are fairly unlikely to happen to the extent they need to, but they could. Where the Ravens can’t help but watch in horror is the injury report.

Following Week 10’s game against the New England Patriots, Baltimore placed yet another two players on injured reserve. Tight end Nick Boyle and cornerback Terrell Bonds join a host of other players with season-ending injuries, unfortunately stacking even more pressure upon some already shallow positions.

Bonds is the fifth cornerback the Ravens have placed on injured reserve this season — joining Tavon Young, Iman Marshall, Anthony Averett, and Khalil Dorsey. While Averett could still return in the coming weeks, the sheer number of injuries has created a problem of even putting enough players on the field for a full game. Baltimore has had to sign free agents off the street at midseason, adding Tramon Williams and now bringing rookie safety Geno Stone up off the practice squad to be able to limp into Week 11.

Boyle’s injury deals a huge blow to a tight end depth chart that was already struggling following the trade of Hayden Hurst this offseason. There was some hope in training camp that UDFAs like Jake Breeland and Eli Wolf could replace Hurst’s smaller role well enough, but both have dealt with injuries that have kept them from the 53-man roster.

Keep in mind that the Ravens used heavy formations (either two or three tight ends and either one or two rushers) 42.7% of the time last season, per FiveThirtyEight. Already not having Hurst was an issue that has limited Baltimore’s success on the ground and through the air this year. Now without Boyle, the team’s best non-lineman blocker, the rushing attack will undoubtedly take yet another hit it could ill afford.

Speaking of blocking, the Ravens have lost two starting offensive linemen to the injured-reserve list. While the loss of rookie right guard Tyre Phillips might have been a bit of a blessing in disguise considering his struggles this season, there’s no way to make the loss of left tackle Ronnie Stanley sound better. Admittedly, Baltimore made a pretty big mistake going into this season with no clear-cut backup offensive tackle and the team now looks to be changing from D.J. Fluker to Patrick Mekari at right tackle after just two weeks. But the loss of Stanley was going to have a massive impact on the offense regardless of who they had backing him up.

Even the list of injuries that haven’t made it to injured reserve is worthy of a deep sigh and some concern. Defensive linemen Calais Campbell and Brandon Williams are expected to miss some time with various injuries. Running back Mark Ingram missed several weeks with an ankle injury. Cornerback Jimmy Smith has been battling back and Achilles injuries all season long. Linebacker L.J. Fort missed the last two games with a finger injury. Rookie defensive lineman Justin Madubuike started the season on the injury report, missing the first four weeks with a banged-up knee. That’s not even getting into the role players who have missed a week or two along the way as well.

While all the expectations piled on the Ravens at the beginning of the season were legitimate and fair, those types of injuries change the situation pretty dramatically. If I were to tell you Baltimore would lose two starting offensive linemen (in addition to Marshal Yanda’s retirement), five starting cornerbacks, a starting tight end, and long-term injuries to guys like Campbell, you’d likely and rightfully tell me that this team’s ceiling would be just making the playoffs.

So, while the Ravens sit at 6-3 and still have a clear path into the postseason, it’s far from certain. Even at their current record, Baltimore is just barely hanging onto a wild-card berth entering Week 11, sitting in front of two teams with the same overall record for the seventh and final playoff seed. With games against the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers in the next two weeks, it’s easy seeing the Ravens slide to 6-5. In the AFC this season, a 10-6 record isn’t likely going to guarantee a playoff berth, meaning Baltimore is in a position where every other remaining game is a must-win scenario.

I think it’s important to note that just getting into the playoffs would make the Ravens a Super Bowl contender. If the team’s 2012 postseason campaign is any indication of what could happen, Baltimore punching their ticket for extra games automatically gives them a chance, no matter how small. That’s what helps make football such an amazing and unpredictable sport. But it’s also important to come back down to Earth and not be crushed if neither happens.

It’s not the end of the world if Baltimore doesn’t make the playoffs or win the Super Bowl this season, even if it’ll be pretty disappointing. This is a team that has a great young core, top coaching, and a front office that has few rivals. The Ravens are set up to do well over a prolonged period, giving hope in 2021 and beyond.

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