Lamar Jackson and the Ravens will again be under a bright spotlight with five prime-time games and seven games set to be nationally televised during the 2024 season.
In addition to opening up the NFL season in Kansas City on Sept. 5, Baltimore will play on Christmas for the second straight year as John Harbaugh’s team travels to Houston for a 2023 divisional-round rematch with the Texans. The Ravens will host Buffalo for Sunday Night Football in Week 4 and Cincinnati for Thursday Night Football in Week 10 and play Monday night road games against Tampa Bay (Week 7) and the Los Angeles Chargers (Week 12).
After facing the Chiefs in an AFC title game rematch in Week 1, the Ravens host Las Vegas for the 29th home opener in franchise history on Sept. 15 and will alternate away and home games until playing back-to-back road contests against the Buccaneers and Cleveland in Weeks 7 and 8. Those games are followed by the only back-to-back home contests of the season when Baltimore hosts Denver and the Bengals over a five-day period in early November.
Neither Ravens-Steelers game is scheduled for prime time, but the second meeting between the AFC North rivals will be a national FOX Saturday afternoon game at M&T Bank Stadium in Week 16. After the Ravens play the Wednesday afternoon Christmas game against the Texans, the date and time for their regular-season finale against Cleveland will be announced at the conclusion of Week 17.
Baltimore is scheduled for six non-Sunday games, two more than any other season in franchise history.
According to NFL Research, the Ravens will play the league’s second-most difficult schedule based on last year’s opponent winning percentage. Their slate includes an NFL-high 10 games against 2023 playoff teams — Cleveland (twice), Pittsburgh (twice), Kansas City, Buffalo, Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, Baltimore has just three games against opponents who suffered 10 or more losses a year ago: the Los Angeles Chargers, the New York Giants, and Washington.
After a heavy travel schedule in 2023, the Ravens rank 22nd in miles traveled for the 2024 regular season, according to Bookies.com. Baltimore is currently scheduled to play seven 1 p.m. Sunday games, but 10 games are subject to flexible scheduling, which can begin as early as Week 5.
2024 SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 5 at Kansas City Chiefs — 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Skinny: No, a season-opening win against Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid wouldn’t come close to exacting revenge or exorcising demons for what happened last January, but it would be great for this team’s early-season psyche.
Sunday, Sept. 15 vs. Las Vegas Raiders — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: Though the nondescript Raiders are coming off an 8-9 season and have Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew competing for the quarterback job, the home opener is always exciting.
Sunday, Sept. 22 at Dallas Cowboys — 4:25 p.m. (FOX)
Skinny: While the Ravens ponied up the money to sign Derrick Henry, the Cowboys let Tony Pollard depart and made quite a choice bringing back Ezekiel Elliott as part of a committee approach at running back.
Sunday, Sept. 29 vs. Buffalo Bills — 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Skinny: Watching Jackson and Josh Allen square off is appointment viewing, but who will the latter be throwing the football to and how will that passing attack look early in the season?
Sunday, Oct. 6 at Cincinnati Bengals — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: Assuming Joe Burrow’s wrist is fully healthy, the Bengals remain the toughest competition for the division title, so this game should carry more weight than the typical Week 5 contest.
Sunday, Oct. 13 Washington Commanders — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: Washington may have finally solved its quarterback woes with the selection of the super talented Jayden Daniels, but is the talent around him enough to help the rookie compete?
Monday, Oct. 21 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers — 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Skinny: Tampa Bay took care of its own by re-signing the likes of Mike Evans, Lavonte David, and Antoine Winfield, but is Baker Mayfield good enough to take the next step after a 9-8 season that was barely enough to win a lousy NFC South?
Sunday, Oct. 27 at Cleveland Browns — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: The short week following a Monday night road game is always challenging, especially when you’re playing on the road against a division foe coming off a playoff season.
Sunday, Nov. 3 vs. Denver Broncos — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: Whether first-round rookie quarterback Bo Nix will be starting at this point in the season or not, it’s really difficult to like the Broncos’ chances in this matchup.
Thursday, Nov. 7 vs. Cincinnati Bengals — 8:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime Video)
Skinny: This one will surely bring up memories of last November’s Thursday game when Burrow and Mark Andrews were lost to injuries that ended their respective regular seasons.
Sunday, Nov. 17 at Pittsburgh Steelers — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: The defection of Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Queen to Pittsburgh will hopefully breathe new life into a rivalry that’s been lacking excitement in recent years.
Monday, Nov. 25 at Los Angeles Chargers — 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Skinny: The first meeting between the Harbaugh brothers in 12 years speaks for itself, but the Ravens will also be facing off against a number of former players and assistant coaches in this prime-time affair.
Sunday, Dec. 1 vs. Philadelphia — 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: Eric DeCosta and Howie Roseman are two of the best general managers in the NFL, but the Eagles can’t afford another collapse like they suffered last December and January.
Week 14 BYE
Skinny: This break ties the 2000 season for the latest bye in franchise history and could prove to be an advantage for January if the Ravens can make it this far in relatively good health.
Sunday, Dec. 15 at New York Giants — 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Skinny: First-round wide receiver Malik Nabers is a heck of a talent, but then you remember Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, or Tommy DeVito will be throwing him the football.
Saturday, Dec. 21 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers — 4:30 p.m. (FOX)
Skinny: Jackson hasn’t played both games in a season series against the Steelers since his rookie year when he was still backing up Joe Flacco, which is the biggest reason why this rivalry has largely fallen out of the national spotlight.
Wednesday, Dec. 25 at Houston Texans — 4:30 p.m. (Netflix)
Skinny: Considering how Houston improved between last year’s opener and the divisional round and then beefed up its roster this offseason, the Ravens should have their hands full playing C.J. Stroud and the defending AFC South champions.
Week 18 TBD vs. Cleveland Browns — TBD
Skinny: Deshaun Watson showed flashes of the quarterback he was in Houston in the Browns’ comeback win in Baltimore last November, but he suffered a season-ending right shoulder injury in that contest and continues to face plenty of doubts.
