Do Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens Have the Easiest NFL Schedule?
The Baltimore Ravens put themselves back on the map in the 2019 season, finishing with the best record in the league. Although they fell short in disappointing fashion in the playoffs, the Ravens have a bright future ahead of them with star quarterback Lamar Jackson leading the charge offensively. Baltimore is hoping to build off that promising campaign by taking another significant step forward in 2020 by contending for the Super Bowl. Things look to have worked out favorably for them, with the schedule possibly being the easiest route in the league.
Ravens’ 2020 NFL Schedule
The Ravens are coming off a campaign where they cruised through the season, holding a 14-2 mark that earned him them the top overall spot in the AFC playoff picture.
Their success in the 2019 regular season has earned them matchups against four divisional champions from last season in the Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, and New England Patriots. The 2020 schedule has them taking on the entire NFC East and AFC South.
The two other teams that are out of the division that they face that are division winners outside of those two groups are the Chiefs and Patriots. With that set in place for this upcoming season, the Ravens are looking at what may be the easiest schedule.
Ravens have the least traveled mileage schedule
There are a few notable aspects that quickly stick out for the Ravens in their favor is where the games will be played.
Baltimore only has to travel outside of the East Coast time zone when they face the Texans in Week 2 action, which is the furthest west that they head. That factor alone gives them the least traveled schedule in the league that may play a factor in keeping the team fresh.
On top of that, the Ravens have the easiest strength of schedule with their opponents’ win-loss record percentage from last year being .438. It includes half of their games being against opposing teams that finished last season with a below .500 mark.
They will have the opportunity to take on several teams such as the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Cincinnati Bengals (twice), who are all on the rebuild. That alone could see them stack up wins against opponents that are not entirely up to par competitively wise just yet.
Ravens won’t face any schedule shortcomings
The Ravens do the max allotted slot of five prime-time games, which includes a pair of Thursday Night Football games.
However, these two games are back-to-back, giving them a full week to prepare for the Dallas Cowboys in Week 13. That is followed with 11 days to gameplan for the Cleveland Browns in Week 14.
What is also even more intriguing is the fact that they will not face a single team that will be heading into the game off a bye week. There are so many factors that seem to suggest that the Ravens should be in for another impressive season.
The 2020 campaign will present its own set of challenges as teams will have adjusted to the Ravens’ offensive approach with Jackson under center. It will be on him to make the necessary improvements and changes. Baltimore has built a strong team on both sides of the ball and has added more talent over the offseason. They have added notable pieces such as Pro Bowl defensive end Calais Campbell and drafted former Ohio State standout running back J.K. Dobbins.
All of this could shape up to be another dominant campaign for the Ravens that sees them take another significant step forward toward dethroning the Chiefs as the top team in the league.
