During July, the Last Word On Sports NFL department will be analyzing the schedules of every team in the NFL and ranking each game in order of difficulty (with one being the most difficult). This series will be split up into the eight most difficult games (ranked 1-8) and the eight easiest games (ranked 9-16) for each team. In this article, the Baltimore Ravens easiest games are the focus.
Baltimore Ravens Easiest Games in 2016
9. Week 3 at Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars got the best of the Ravens last season when these two teams met in Baltimore. Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles threw for 35 touchdowns in 2015, shocking the NFL. Now, the Jaguars are looking more like a contender and they will have the home crowd on their side. The Ravens will need to give it all they got in order to win this game.
10. Week 4 vs Oakland Raiders
The Raiders are another team that people are calling a sleeper team. Quarterback Derek Carr and wide receiver Amari Cooper are looking to lead this team to the playoffs in 2015. Oakland will also have a dominant defense led by defensive superstar Khalil Mack that will be looking to prove that they are contenders. Baltimore will be looking to stop them in their tracks when these two teams meet.
11. Week 11 at Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have a great looking offense. If the Ravens want to be able to stop the Cowboys offense, the defensive line will have to step up, both in pressuring Tony Romo and limiting Ezekiel Elliott’s rushing yards.
12. Week 13 vs Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins knocked off the Ravens last season in Miami. The Dolphins have lost a few key players, such as wide receiver Greg Jennings and defensive end Olivier Vernon. It looks as if the Ravens should have no trouble winning this game.
13. Week 1 vs Buffalo Bills
The Bills are a team that raises their fan’s expectations, then can’t reach those expectations. Head coach Rex Ryan said that the Bills would be in the Super Bowl last season. They wound up finishing the season 6-10 and missed the playoffs. The Ravens have had much success over the years, especially during the 2012 NFL season when they beat the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl XLVII; while the Bills like to think they have, but haven’t. It looks as if Baltimore will start the season with a win.
14. Week 15 vs Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles team looks like they won’t be going far in 2016. The outcome of this game could look like the 2008 game in which the Ravens won 36-7. The Eagles don’t look like a challenge at all.
15. Week 2 at Cleveland Browns
The Browns pushed the Ravens to the brink last season when they met in Cleveland. The Ravens needed a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown to win the game as time expired. For Baltimore, they played that game without Flacco, Smith, or Forsett. Now that the three of them are back, the Ravens should be able to pull out an easy win in Cleveland.
16. Week 10 vs Cleveland Browns
The Browns beat the Ravens in Baltimore last season, but that will not happen again. With key pieces on the Ravens hot offense coming back from injury, it will be blowout city in Baltimore in Week 10.
Make sure you also read the eight most difficult games on the Ravens schedule.
BALTIMORE, MD – NOVEMBER 22: Quarterback Joe Flacco #5 of the Baltimore Ravens winces in pain on the final drive of the fourth quarter against the St. Louis Rams at M&T Bank Stadium on November 22, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore Ravens won, 16-13. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
