Here are fascinating features associated with the season ahead.
–The Ravens will have ten games against teams that had winning records in 2020 and eight games against 2020 playoff teams. The team will play 14 of its 17 games in the Eastern time zone–the exceptions being Denver, Las Vegas, and Chicago.
–Using the 2020 records of the team’s 2021 opponents, Baltimore has the NFL’s second-toughest schedule in 2021, topped only by the Pittsburgh Steelers. That will certainly change depending on how the 2021 campaign plays out. For example, the Ravens began the 2020 season with the league’s easiest schedule, But when the 2020 records were factored in at the end of the year, the slate was actually tied for the 16th-easiest.
–The two placement games are determined by a team’s finish in the standings over the previous season. The Ravens finished second in the AFC North in 2020 via a head-to-head tiebreaker with Cleveland. Placement opponents are defined as those with the same finish in the standings as did the Ravens in divisions from the same conference the Ravens aren’t already playing in their entirety. What a mouthful! Translation: because the Ravens do not play the AFC South or East in 2021, Indianapolis (home) and Miami (away) are on the schedule.
–Per the league schedule rotation, the Ravens are playing the entire AFC West and NFC North in 2021. A separate rotation for the brand-new 17th game will make its debut in 2021, with the NFC West taking on the AFC North, paired up corresponding finishes in the previous year’s standings. Yikes! Another mouthful. Translation: because the AFC teams get to have home-field advantage this time around, that is why the Los Angeles Rams will play at Baltimore.
–The Ravens have never won a regular-season game in New England, Minnesota, or Chicago, and they will be traveling to Chicago in 2021–a location where Baltimore is 0-3. In 2020, they got their first-ever wins in Philadelphia and Indianapolis. The Ravens have never played in Las Vegas–they will open the upcoming campaign there–but they have beaten the Raiders in Oakland on multiple occasions.
–Last year, the Ravens did not play any games against teams coming out of their bye weeks. In 2021, the Ravens will play at Chicago and Cleveland immediately after those teams’ idle weeks. Baltimore, in fact, will play Cleveland twice in a three-week stretch, which is a rather unorthodox piece of scheduling more analogous to the Canadian Football League, where it is a common practice.
–The Ravens and Pittsburgh will not meet until Dec. 5, marking the latest debut with an AFC North foe in Baltimore team history. Baltimore will have a bye on Halloween (on Week Eight for the third year in a row), while Pittsburgh won’t play in Week 7 (Oct. 24). The Cincinnati open date will be on Nov. 14, while Cleveland won’t be off until Week 13 (Dec. 5).
–For a second consecutive year, the Ravens play five prime-time games–the maximum allowable or any team. Ten clubs will enjoy that exposure level in 2021. Contrary to popular belief, games that kick off at 4:25 p.m. do no count as prime-time games. This statistic is subject to change due to flexible scheduling, which applies only to Sunday games. Monday and Thursday night games cannot be flexed.
–The Ravens are playing two of their three return (second) division games on the road, with Pittsburgh being the exception as the season-ending home game. In 2020, Baltimore played all three division return games on the road–winning at Cleveland and Cincinnati and losing at Pittsburgh.
–Due to the Ravens’ two Monday-night games and their Thursday-night game in Miami, along with the bye week, Baltimore will have four open Sunday afternoons over the course of the season. In 2020, the Ravens had five open Sundays, including three in a row in November and December.
