With training camp underway and the preseason fast approaching, Last Word on Pro Football is analyzing the schedules of all 32 NFL teams. Each team’s 16-game slate will be split into its most difficult (1-8) and easiest games (9-16). For this article, the toughest games on the Baltimore Ravens 2019 schedule are under the microscope.
The easiest games on the 2019 Ravens schedule.
Baltimore Ravens Most Difficult Games of 2019
1. Week 12: at Los Angeles Rams
The hardest game of the Ravens season comes at the end of their toughest stretch of games in 2019. The Ravens have to fly all the way across the country for a Monday night prime-time game against last season’s NFC champions. There’s a good chance that at this point in the season, Baltimore is going to be exhausted after playing three really tough games coming out of their bye.
These two teams haven’t met since 2015 (when both teams were awful) but are much improved from the last time they played. It wouldn’t even be surprising if this game fielded the league’s number one offense against the league’s number one defense. This is the toughest game of the Ravens schedule because the Rams have home field, a defense that matches up very well against the Ravens offense, an incredibly skilled and versatile offense, and one of the few kickers in the NFL that can go toe-to-toe with Justin Tucker.
Everyone throughout the league will be looking forward to this matchup.
2. Week 17: vs Pittsburgh Steelers
If you watched the Ravens week 17 matchup with the Cleveland Browns last season, you probably know why this is going to be a tough game. In fact, if you’ve watched any of the Ravens season closeout games over the past three seasons, you probably understand that Baltimore likes to make things really tough on themselves. From Antonio Brown‘s hand of god extension, Tyler Boyd‘s 49-yard touchdown with the Bengals backed up 4th & 12, to last season getting it right with C.J. Mosley‘s playoff-clinching interception, there is always drama at the end of the Ravens season. It didn’t matter who the Ravens were playing in this game, if they are a division team, it’s probably going to be the biggest of the season.
Baltimore will likely be in a ‘win and you’re in’ scenario again and it will be even more magnified as part of the NFL’s best current rivalry.
3. Week 16: at Cleveland Browns
If I could put every one of the Ravens six divisional games at the top of this list I would. However, that isn’t fair because they are not the six hardest games, but rather the six most important games on the schedule.
Week 16 against the Browns will likely have incredibly similar circumstances to the game the following week but it’s probably the game before the do or die. The Browns are going to be a better team than years prior in 2019 and will likely provide a tough test as the push for the playoffs is on. They haven’t beaten the Ravens in regulation time since 2013 — for a record of 8-2 in the Ravens favor over that time span. Both the Browns and Ravens will be trying to lock up playoff spots at this time and this game will likely have huge implications on who takes the division.
4. Week Nine: vs New England Patriots
When the Ravens and Patriots meet up, there are always fireworks. The Patriots have taken the past three contests but the record is close at 5-3 (including playoffs) in favor of New England since 2010 with a number of memorable contests in between. Though you would expect a matchup with the reigning Super Bowl champions to be maybe the toughest of the year, the Ravens get a favorable spot this year. They get to play at home and are coming off of a bye the week prior. Head coach John Harbaugh is 9-2 in his career coming out of a bye with the only two losses coming in the injury mangled 2015 season and in 2013 against the Browns. Harbaugh’s four-game winning streak will be hard to keep but it’s one of the more favorable scenarios for matching up with the most consistent franchise in the NFL.
The Ravens will be looking for someone to replicate Torrey Smith‘s performance from their 2012 matchup.
5. Week 3: at Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs will likely provide the Ravens’ first real test of the season. A lot of pundits have the Chiefs labeled as a Super Bowl contender on the levels of both the Rams and Patriots but Lamar Jackson already has experience against Kansas City from last year. It could even be argued he was the better quarterback in the matchup. Jackson finished with far less passing yards but had a better QBR, the same amount of passing TDs and no picks to Patrick Mahomes‘ one in their meeting. The Ravens lost the game in overtime but Jackson proved he has it in him to win at Arrowhead with just a few small adjustments. Baltimore also has a year of tape on Mahomes for them to better prepare for the game.
September is a time where teams are still feeling out their rosters and this game could set the tone for the rest of the year if Baltimore walks out with a win and maybe a 3-0 record. It won’t be easy if the game is anything like their contest in 2018.
6. Week 10: at Cincinnati Bengals
For whatever reason, the Ravens struggle every time they go into Paul Brown Stadium. Even if the Bengals aren’t a competitive team in 2019, this game will be tough for Baltimore. Over the past seven seasons, Cincinnati holds a 6-1 record at home against Baltimore. The freshest instance being last season when the Bengals jumped out to a 21-0 lead just 16:53 into the game during Week Two of last season. A.J. Green has terrorized the Ravens over his career and will most likely be back for their Week 10 matchup even if he misses their week six contest due to injury. If there’s one positive in the matchup for the Ravens, it is that Jackson will be making his first start away against Cincinnati after beating them in his first NFL start last season.
This is a game the Ravens should win based off the on-paper matchup but the Bengals have their number.
7. Week 7: at Seattle Seahawks
The next three games listed here are all interchangeable. The Seahawks get the highest difficulty simply because Century Link remains one of the loudest places in the NFL and one of the toughest to play in.
The Seahawks might not be intimidating on paper going into 2019 but it’s hard to write off Russell Wilson as a non-threat. In Wilson’s only game against the Ravens in 2015, he threw for five touchdowns in a 35-6 beatdown in Baltimore. However, their 2019 game will likely be a much tighter contest. The Ravens secondary far outmatches the Seahawks receivers while their somewhat weak pass rush draws an easy matchup vs. a Seattle offensive line that has had little success protecting Wilson the past few seasons. It will be interesting to see how Jackson handles facing the league’s best interior linebacker Bobby Wagner but the Seahawks just don’t pose the same threat they have in previous years.
8. Week 11: vs Houston Texans
The Texans are a perplexing group going into 2019. After having so much promise going into last season, Houston has seen their hype train die down a bit after failing to finish last year with a playoff victory. They’re likely once again going to be a team pushing for the playoffs but one that still hasn’t proven they can hang with the best teams in the league. That’s not to say they could not have a lot of success in 2019 but they still need to prove they’re in the top-tier of teams.
In the 2019 matchup, the Texans have one of the few receiving corps that can rival the Ravens secondary. Along with Deshaun Watson‘s ability to use his legs, Houston could provide one of the toughest matchups all season for the Ravens defense. It will also be interesting to see how the Texans implement their linebackers against Baltimore. Houston’s linebacking corps is one of the most athletic in the NFL and could provide a steep learning curve for Jackson. The last time the two teams faced in 2017, then-Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel unleashed Jadeveon Clowney via a plethora of different positions, giving the Ravens offensive line trouble on every play.
This could be the best game to watch on the Ravens schedule.
