Kickoff Time for Ravens' Showdown vs. Patriots Gets Flexed

It appears that the NFL has a ton of faith that the Baltimore Ravens will bounce back and be ready for a Week 16 showdown against the New England Patriots.

The league announced that they have flexed the Ravens-Patriots Week 16 game to primetime at 8:20 pm EST on NBC. Initially, in that slot was the Miami Dolphins hosting a home game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Baltimore is entering Week 15 with a 6-7 record after suffering a horrific 27-22 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Patriots are rolling strong after a bye, but are first in the AFC East with an 11-2 record and second in the AFC behind the Denver Broncos.

Ravens' Week 16 Patriots Showdown Gets a Whole Lot Bigger

It's already going to be a grueling final four games of the season for the Ravens, but now with the national spotlight on them, the expectations just got bigger. For the rest of the season, Baltimore has the Bengals, Patriots, Green Bay Packers, and Steelers remaining on the calendar.

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

The Ravens are in a must-win situation for the rest of the season, trailing the Steelers in the AFC North and needing to play catch-up after their loss. They can't afford any more losses with playoff spots going to be tough to find, so whoever wins the AFC North will most likely be the only team from the division to represent in the playoffs.

The Ravens can fight back and go on a winning streak, as they have done before this season. After a rough 1-5 start, they went on a five-game winning streak that took them to 6-5 on the season, but consecutive losses to the Bengals and Steelers derailed their season.

It won't be easy with the Patriots, as this is an entirely different team than the Ravens last played back in 2022, when it wasn't that great. Baltimore won that matchup 37-26. For the series, the Patriots have mostly dominated with an 11-5 record against the Ravens.

Before the Ravens can even think about the Patriots as their opponent, they have to get revenge on the Bengals after Baltimore was embarrassed by them 32-14 on Thanksgiving Day. Once the Ravens can hopefully find a way to win, they can turn their attention to New England.

Another loss to Cincinnati, though, and that Patriots might not even matter for Baltimore, so it's all about going 1-0 each week.

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