The Ravens rode a 13-4 record to the No. 1 seed in the AFC in 2023. The path back to the top is more challenging going into the 2024 season – at least on paper.
Baltimore has the second-most difficult schedule in the NFL this season and will play a league-high 10 games against teams that went to the playoffs last year.
The Ravens' 2024 opponents had a collective record of 155-134 last season – a .536 win percentage. The playoff teams Baltimore will face are Cleveland (2x), Pittsburgh (2x), Philadelphia, Buffalo, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, and Tampa Bay.
Baltimore's schedule is so challenging because the AFC North was the best division in the NFL last year, the Ravens will face the other first-place finishers in the AFC, and Baltimore faces two other divisions that were relatively strong last year in the AFC West and NFC East.
Only the Browns face a more daunting schedule than the Ravens. The Steelers come in at No. 3.
Here is the full strength of schedule rankings, which are based off opponents' combined records/win percentage from the 2023 season:
- Cleveland Browns (.547)
- Baltimore Ravens (.536)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (.533)
- T-4. Green Bay Packers (.526)
- T-4. Houston Texans (.526)
- T-6. Buffalo Bills (.516)
- T-6. New York Giants (.516)
- T-8. Jacksonville Jaguars (.512)
- T-8. Los Angeles Raiders (.512)
- T-8. New England Patriots (.512)
- 11. Detroit Lions (.509)
- T-12. Dallas Cowboys (.505)
- T-12. Los Angeles Rams (.505)
- T-12. New York Jets (.505)
- T-12. San Francisco 49ers (.505)
- T-16. Cincinnati Bengals (.502)
- T-16. Kansas City Chiefs (.502)
- T-16. Minnesota Vikings (.502)
- T-16. Washington Commanders (.502)
- 20. Denver Broncos (.495)
- T-21. Indianapolis Colts (.491)
- T-21. Philadelphia Eagles (.491)
- T-21. Tennessee Titans (.491)
- T-24. Arizona Cardinals (.488)
- T-25. Miami Dolphins (.488)
- T-25. Seattle Seahawks (.488)
- T-27. Los Angeles Chargers (.478)
- T-27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (.478)
- T-29. Carolina Panthers (.467)
- T-29. Chicago Bears (.467)
- T-31. New Orleans Saints (.453)
- T-31. Atlanta Falcons (.453)
There's reason to believe the Ravens' schedule could be tougher than it looks on paper. The two teams with the worst records from last year (the Chargers and Commanders) have made significant offseason additions. New Head Coach Jim Harbaugh has ushered in changes in Los Angeles and the Commanders have a new quarterback in No. 2-overall pick Jayden Daniels.
The Ravens had the 21st-ranked strength of schedule last season. Of the 10 teams who had the most difficult schedule, five made the playoffs (Eagles, Dolphins, Cowboys, Bills, Rams). In 2022, four teams with top-10 strengths of schedule reached the postseason.
