Ravens Open As AFC North Favorites, Second to Win Conference Title
The Ravens are favored to repeat as AFC North champions and are second behind the Kansas City Chiefs to advance to the Super Bowl.
Baltimore opened as a 4/11 favorite to win the division, ahead of the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers (each at 15/4) and the Cincinnati Bengals (28/1), according to BetOnline.
While Kansas City is favored to win the AFC championship at 3/1, the Ravens are right behind them at 7/2, followed by the New England Patriots (6/1), Houston Texans (12/2) and Cleveland Browns (14/1).
The Ravens are coming off the best regular season in franchise history, finishing 14-2 and won the AFC North crown for a second straight year. Baltimore also earned the top seed in the playoffs for the first time.
So, there was plenty of momentum heading into this offseason despite another one-and-done performance in the playoffs.
The Ravens have most of their roster intact and are confident that they have enough talent to make a Super Bowl run in 2020 behind reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson at quarterback.
Baltimore broke the single-season NFL rushing record (3,296 yards) and had a league-high 13 players named to the 2020 Pro Bowl. Baltimore also became the first team in NFL history to average 206.0 rushing yards and 201.6 net passing yards per game.
Jackson completed 265 of 401 passes for 3,127 yards and an NFL-high 36 touchdowns, which was also a franchise record. He is the only quarterback in NFL history to produce at least 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a season.
However, Baltimore lost to the sixth-seeded Tennessee Titans 28-12 in the divisional round of the playoffs. While that was a disappointing end to a successful year, the setback has not dampened the team's spirits. In addition to Jackson winning MVP honors, Harbaugh was named Coach of the Year.
“We had a great season, but we had a disappointing end,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We were the best team we could be this season. All things considered, where we were at, with our team, with our roster, with our youth, with our experience, all the things that we had, with our coaches, we were the best team during the season that we could be.”
Odds to Win the 2020 AFC North
Baltimore Ravens 4/11
Cleveland Browns 15/4
Pittsburgh Steelers 15/4
Cincinnati Bengals 28/1
2020 NFL AFC Conference - Odds to Win
Kansas City Chiefs 3/1
Baltimore Ravens 7/2
New England Patriots 6/1
Houston Texans 12/1
Cleveland Browns 14/1
Los Angeles Chargers 14/1
Tennessee Titans 14/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 18/1
Buffalo Bills 20/1
Indianapolis Colts 20/1
Las Vegas Raiders 20/1
Denver Broncos 33/1
New York Jets 33/1
Cincinnati Bengals 50/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 50/1
Miami Dolphins 50/1
