The Baltimore Ravens Have a Manageable Schedule in 2017

The Ravens have a more than manageable schedule ahead of them in 2017.

It was announced today the 2017 regular season schedule for NFL teams will be released Thursday night at 8 p.m.

The preseason schedule was released last week and all teams know their opponents, just not when they are playing them. For the Ravens, the only game they know for sure right now is their week 3 match-up against the Jaguars in London. They could have had a bye week after playing in London, but the organization chose to request it for a different week.

Taking a look at the Raven’s opponents in 2017, they have a pretty manageable schedule if I’m being honest. 50% of their opponents were playoff teams last year but that isn’t something to get too worked up about. According to CBS Sports, the Ravens strength of schedule in 2017 is ranked 24th out of the 32 NFL teams. It is down five spots from their schedule last season. If it were not for a couple of bad losses, the Ravens would have been in the playoffs. It is time for them to use this manageable schedule to their advantage.

Looking at the non-divisional opponents, the away games are more difficult than the home games. Traveling to Green Bay, Oakland, and Minnesota is not ideal, but it could be worse. I could see them taking two out of three. If it was not for Dean Pees prevent defense last season, they could have beat the Raiders. The Vikings started off strong last season, but tailed off. Teddy Bridgewater is still out and Sam Bradford is prone to making mistakes. Traveling to a different country to play is never easy, but they lucked out with a match-up against the Jaguars.

Scheduling is going to matter

While their schedule looks to be manageable, when these games happen is going to be important. For example, let’s look at the Green Bay game. If you are the Ravens you would rather travel to Green Bay in the early months of the season rather than December and January. Trying to beat Aaron Rodgers when it’s 10° weather at Lambeau field is a tough task, no matter who you are.

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Last season, the Ravens were in the mist of divisional title push against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But as it turned out, they faced their toughest stretch at the end of the season and it cost them. The Ravens finished the last six weeks of the season against the Cowboys, Bengals, Dolphins, Patriots, Eagles, Steelers and Bengals. On the other hand, the Steelers finished the season against the Browns, Colts, Giants, Bills, Bengals, Ravens and Browns. One seems a little better than other, right? It will be interesting to see how the Raven’s schedule plays out for them. The NFL never seems to give them any breaks so I am going to keep my expectations low.