John Harbaugh Reacts To Ravens' Schedule

The Baltimore Ravens are preparing to face a brutal schedule this season.

Dec 17, 2023; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh reacts after the / Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Ravens now know their full 2024 schedule, and the pros and cons that come with it.

For advantages, the Ravens boast the best rest advantage of any team in the league by considerable margin, and they don't have to travel that much, relatively speaking. As for disadvantages, Baltimore has the second-toughest schedule in the league, plays three games in 10 days late in the season and plays on the road for the second-straight season.

It's an interesting and challenging schedule for the Ravens, and it all begins with a road matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 5. Playing the back-to-back champs in the season opener -on their home turf, no less - will be a great challenge, but one Ravens coach John Harbaugh is already looking forward to.

"I was happy. I think it's a great game to play in," Harbaugh said, per the team's official site. "I watch the Thursday night game. I can't wait to get home and watch it when you're playing on Sunday, you're getting ready for your game. Now we're going to be playing in that game. I like the idea of playing early. You get to it. We get to play the season three days earlier than everybody else. So we get started."

Harbaugh also commented on other quirks with the Ravens' schedule. While he lamented the late-season crunch, he made note of how the team's they're playing in that stretch have to go through the same thing as well.

A common sentiment throughout Harbaugh's remarks was a desire for more marquee games at home. Both of the Ravens' Monday Night Football games - against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7 and Los Angeles Chargers in Week 12, come on the road, as does their Christmas Day game against the Houston Texans.

"We are always on the short end of those for some crazy reason, especially Monday night. And the Christmas games, for instance, those have gone on the road. Maybe it's because our guys go play so well and they know they're going to get a good game. Maybe that's why. But I do feel like our fans deserve as many of those games as we can get."

Speaking of the holidays, Harbaugh will reunite with his younger brother Jim Harbaugh when the Ravens visit the Chargers just three days before Thanksgiving. The Harbaugh Bowl was always going to be a matchup to watch, but it's so much more than that for the brothers.

"That will definitely be the storyline, I'm sure," John said. "But it's such an emotional thing. It runs so much deeper than that in real life, to be honest. It's so meaningful. We both root for each other. We both have each other's back all the time and yet we're competing against each other. And yeah, there is a pride part of it. You do want to win, but not just for you, but for your guys, for the organization, for the standings. There's so much at stake."

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