Getty Ravens fans cheer on the team in Miami.
The Baltimore Ravens are ready to think about next season already, and that’s especially true given the devastation of 2019 and the exciting offseason the team has had to this point.
Right now, the next step is to think about the schedule for next year. Ahead of the actual release for 2020 on Thursday, there’s been some interesting unconfirmed leaks to this point. Here’s a look at some of the more notable leaks for the Ravens ahead of the actual schedule coming from the league and teams on Thursday night.
Ravens to open 2020 with NFC East teams?
.@JohnClaytonNFL tells @937theFan that the NFL schedule will be NFC vs AFC for the 1st 4 weeks of the season. Steelers play the NFC East. So 1st 4 games would be Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins, and Giants.
The thinking here is that the league would start with some AFC-NFC crossovers in case the early part of the season had to be cut. Like the Steelers, the Ravens would play the NFC East in this scenario, so the schedule could be packed with some big matchups early on. This is merely a rumor, though, and it’s legitimacy is currently up in the air at this point given some other variables that are being reported about the schedule.
Ravens-Chiefs Early Season Tilt?
According to Jason Hirschhorn, the Ravens and Chiefs could be set to square off in Week 3 of the 2020 NFL season in a very anticipated duel.
Ravens 2020 Schedule Strength Revealed
Most know the inherent difficulty the team will face within their own AFC North division, but how about from the schedule as a whole? Recently, CBS Sports looked at breaking down every team’s schedule from the hardest in the league to the easiest ahead of the schedule release. It shows that the Ravens should be sitting in a fairly favorable spot as it relates to next season given the teams they will play.
The site and writer Jared Dubin used over-under totals from opponents to rank the 2020 schedule. What he found when it came to Baltimore was a team that will have one of the easier schedules in the league this coming season. The Ravens have one of the lower opponent strength of schedules in the league, which leads them to have a fairly easy schedule. That’s interesting considering the Ravens finished in first place last season and carved up the league along the way.
As a whole, the schedule is tied for the 3rd easiest in football for 2020 based on opponent over-unders. The Ravens need to prove they can step up and deal with whatever comes their way, but on the whole, the team should be able to have a successful year given this early variable.
Naturally, even the worst of teams from 2019 have improved, so while the schedule might seem a bit lighter now, that’s not always how it works out when the games begin. Count on the Ravens still finding pressure to perform even though their schedule strength looks a bit easier now.
Ravens 2020 Schedule Formula Revealed
Next season is already on the horizon, and a look at what the Baltimore schedule looks like for 2020 has already been revealed. Here’s a quick glance at the breakdown for the Ravens:
For those who missed it earlier, here are the Ravens’ 2020 opponents …
Home: Jaguars, Titans, Cowboys, Giants, Chiefs, Bengals, Browns and Steelers
Away: Redskins, Eagles, Colts, Texans, Patriots, Bengals, Browns and Steelers
Dates and times will be announced in April.
In addition to their usual games against the rivals of the AFC North, the Ravens will play against the NFC East and AFC South. The difficulty will be a first place schedule as a result of how Baltimore finished in 2019.
Obviously, the Ravens will have to win big in order to match what they were able to do during this past regular season, but given how things ended in the playoffs, it’s fair to say most people will only care about getting to the playoffs and what happens there moving forward.
Ravens Already High in 2021 Super Bowl Odds
A look at some very early odds was revealed by Caesars a few months back, and perhaps surprisingly, the Ravens were high on the list in spite of their frustrating finish to 2020. As a whole, the Ravens have the second best odds to take home the Lombardi Trophy at 7-1 a year from now.
Here’s a look at some of the early odds for next season:
Next year’s Super Bowl odds released from @CaesarsEnt today:
Chiefs 6-1
Ravens 7-1
49ers 8-1
Saints 11-1
Patriots 14-1
Steelers 15-1
Cowboys, Packers 18-1
Seahawks 22-1
Browns, Eagles, Rams, Vikings 25-1
So far, the offseason continues to progress through free agency and the draft and the Ravens have been very busy in both, having one of the best drafts in the league while also adding solid talent across the board in free agency. What do their odds look like now? The same at 7-1, as things have not been re-racked since early February.
The Ravens have a long way to go, but the schedule they will be dealing with should offer them some chances in order to make these dreams a reality in 2020-21.
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