Ravens Poised for Mid-Season Run

It's hard to think of a team - not just in 2025 but in recent NFL history - with a tougher opening schedule than the Baltimore Ravens do this year.

The Ravens seemingly had all of their hardest games, excluding divisional matchups, land in the first third of the season. Of Baltimore's first six games, five of them are against teams that won their divisions and three of them are against teams that won 13+ games last year. Four of those first six games are at home, but the Ravens will absolutely be challenged early and often.

CBS Sports' John Breech believes that opening stretch is the worst part of the Ravens' schedule, and for good reason.

"The Ravens should be a good team this year, but there's definitely a chance that they could go into their Week 7 bye with a record that's .500 or worse," Breech wrote. "Through the first six weeks, the Ravens will play five games against serious Super Bowl contenders in the Bills, Lions, Chiefs, Texans and Rams. Going 5-0 in that stretch will be almost impossible.

There is a silver lining here, however.

The schedule lightens up significantly after the bye, with only one of Ravens' next five games coming against 2024 playoff teams. They'll be on the road for three of those five games, but it's a night-and-day difference in terms of the teams they'll face.

As such, Breech believes they're primed to go on a mid-season run after their brutal opening.

"Starting in Week 8, they'll face a stretch of five games where they'll get to face four teams that finished under .500 last year (Bears, Dolphins, Browns and Jets), including two teams (Chicago and New York) that will have a new head coach," Breech wrote. "That feels like a spot where the Ravens could roll, which could set them up for a strong run during the final stretch of the season."

The Ravens will have to be in good shape going into the home stretch of the season. Four of their final six games come against the Cincinnati Bengals or Pittsburgh Steelers, and there's also a tough road matchup against the Green Bay Packers.

If they can go on a mid-season run like Breech predicts, the Ravens should be in good position for the playoffs.