We’ve known the Ravens’ entire slate of opponents for months, but Wednesday’s much-awaited schedule release gave us the necessary context to officially begin the countdown to the 2025 season.
Below is an initial thought for each matchup:
2025 SCHEDULE
Sunday, Sept. 7 at Buffalo Bills — 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Skinny: Anticipation for this one speaks for itself, but opening against a team that ended your previous season for a second straight year leaves much motivation for Lamar Jackson, Mark Andrews, and company.
Sunday, Sept. 14 vs. Cleveland Browns — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: The Ravens opened on the road against Joe Flacco and defeated him and the New York Jets three years ago, but the Super Bowl XLVII MVP starting a game in Baltimore would hit differently.
Monday, Sept. 22 vs. Detroit Lions — 8:15 p.m. (ESPN/ABC)
Skinny: John Harbaugh will be pleased to have a rare Monday night home game, and this one will be hyped as a potential Super Bowl preview if both teams get off to good starts.
Sunday, Sept. 28 at Kansas City Chiefs — 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: Playing the long-reigning king of the AFC at Arrowhead Stadium is daunting enough, but doing so on a short week adds even more difficulty to preparing for Patrick Mahomes and Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.
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Sunday, Oct. 5 vs. Houston Texans — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: The Texans were embarrassed by the Ravens last Christmas and plateaued last year, but facing a fourth defending division champion in the first five games will require a fast start to 2025 for Baltimore.
Sunday, Oct. 12 vs. Los Angeles Rams — 1:00 p.m. (FOX)
Skinny: Two years ago, these teams clashed in one of the best games at M&T Bank Stadium in recent memory, but you wonder if the Super Bowl window has closed for 37-year-old quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Week 7 BYE
Skinny: Though the Ravens won’t have the luxury of another late-season bye, their early gauntlet of 2024 playoff teams will leave them ready for a breather.
Sunday, Oct. 26 vs. Chicago Bears — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: The Bears are more interesting than they’ve been in years with new head coach Ben Johnson and second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, but facing Baltimore coming off a bye is usually bad news.
Thursday, Oct. 30 at Miami Dolphins — 8:15 p.m. (Prime Video)
Skinny: This one will spark some memories of the Thursday night debacle in Miami four years ago, but the Dolphins are looking more and more like a team going nowhere fast.
Sunday, Nov. 9 at Minnesota Vikings — 1:00 p.m. (FOX)
Skinny: Coming off a surprising 14-3 season and handing the quarterback reins to J.J. McCarthy make the Vikings one of the NFL’s most intriguing teams, and they’re very well coached too.
Sunday, Nov. 16 at Cleveland Browns — 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: The Ravens haven’t swept the season series against the Browns since 2020, so you hope they don’t let their guard down in a third straight road game on the schedule.
8Sunday, Nov. 23 vs. New York Jets — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: Though the Jets have talent on defense, signing quarterback Justin Fields to a two-year, $40 million contract says much about the direction of this organization — as in there isn’t one.
Thursday, Nov. 27 vs. Cincinnati Bengals — 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Skinny: How angry would the local fans be if the Ravens were scheduled for a short-week Thursday road game against their biggest division rival for a third straight season?
Sunday, Dec. 7 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: Perhaps the 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers will have finally decided whether he wants to play quarterback for the Steelers by Week 14.
Sunday, Dec. 14 at Cincinnati Bengals — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: Jackson and Joe Burrow combined for an incredible 17 touchdown passes in the two meetings between these teams last season, which were both instant classics.
Sunday, Dec. 21 vs. New England Patriots — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: You have to wonder if new head coach Mike Vrabel and talented second-year quarterback Drake Maye will make the Patriots a sneaky team come December despite clear roster deficiencies.
Week 17 TBD at Green Bay Packers — TBD
Skinny: The Packers are talented on both sides of the ball, and playing at Lambeau Field in late December makes this one of the most challenging games on the schedule.
Week 18 TBD at Pittsburgh Steelers — TBD
Skinny: The Ravens haven’t played a game in Pittsburgh this late in a season since the 2016 Christmas game, so you hope they’ll have already determined their playoff path to avoid any potential Baltimore-Pittsburgh weirdness.
