Baltimore Ravens Face Brutal 6-Week Stretch That Will Determine Their Season

The Baltimore Ravens are poised to start strong and get tested the most in the middle before closing with a key slate of division showdowns.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) leaps away from Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard (94) on a keeper in the first quarter of the NFL Week 5 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. The Bengals led 17-14 at halftime. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Baltimore Ravens bye being placed in Week 13 couldn't come at better time for first-year head coach Jesse Minter and his team, as it immediately follows what looks like their toughest slate of games of the regular season schedule on paper.

Following their first matchup of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7, which could very well end up being a potential shootout, the Ravens will face five straight teams that made the playoffs last season, including a pair of reigning division winners.

The gauntlet begins with a showdown against the Buffalo Bills in Week 8, which is surprisingly scheduled for an afternoon kickoff despite their last two matchup resulting in thrillers that went down to the wire. Although they'll be back in the confines of M&T Bank Stadium for their next game against the defending AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars, it will be coming off just three days' rest on Thursday Night Football.

Thankfully, they'll get a mini bye before hosting the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football to close out Week 10. After that, they'll have back-to-back road games against the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans before their well-timed respite. Neither of those games will be walks in the park as they are both led by talented young quarterbacks who went first and second overall in the 2023 NFL Draft in Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud.

When the Ravens return from the bye, that's when their playoff destiny will really be determined, and when they need to be playing their best ball. After a Week 14 interconference matinee against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they'll close out the regular season with four straight games against AFC North foes, including both with the defending division champion Pittsburgh Steelers, the second of which will be the finale.

If the Ravens can emerge from their brutal stretch going at worst 3-3 and at best 6-0, 5-1 or 4-2, they'd be primed to finish strong during their most crucial stretch coming off their bye in the final five weeks.

Ravens are poised to get off to a hot start

Dec 7, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers (4) reacts after a play against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

As brutal as their crucial six-week stretch looks on paper, their slate of opponents to open the season is a far cry from the gauntlet they started last year off with. They won't face a team coming off a playoff run for the first two months of the season until they play the Bills on Nov. 1.

In 2025, the Ravens faced five playoff teams from the previous year in their first six games, including four division reigning winners. Mounting injuries and inconsistent play in key moments caused them to falter to a 1-5 start before a merciful Week 6 bye arrived. From there, they rattled off five straight to get above .500, but then stumbled again down the final stretch, dropping four of their final six to finish 8-9 and miss out on the postseason entirely.

While they will still be opening the season on the road for the third year in a row, this time around, it won't be against the reigning Super Bowl champions or league MVP like they have the past two. Instead, they'll be opening against an Indianapolis Colts team that also finished 8-9 last year and will be starting either Daniel Jones at quarterback in his first game off a torn Achilles or one of either second-year pro Riley Leonard or former first-round bust Anthony Richardson, if he hasn't been traded by then.

In Week 2, they'll host the New Orleans Saints and second-year quarterback Tyler Shough for their home opener, followed up by an international road trip to take on the Dallas Cowboys, who went 7-9-1 last year in their first-ever game in Brazil.

The Ravens will return home in Week 4 to host the Tennessee Titans, who are led by another second-year signal caller in 2025 first-overall pick Cam Ward. That will be followed up by a two-week road stint against the Atlanta Falcons, who will be starting one of two injury-prone left-handed quarterbacks, in primetime, and the Cleveland Browns, who might've switched from Shedeur Sanders to Deshaun Watson or the other way around by that point, depending on who opens the season as the starter.

If the Ravens come out hot from the jump and start strong, they could be entering their most brutal stretch, potentially undefeated at 6-0 or with just one loss at 5-1. That would give them the kind of margin of error they didn't have through the first six weeks of last season and could have them clicking on all cylinders to continue building momentum against the stiffest slate of competition that they'll face based on last year's results and offseason trajectory.