Baltimore Ravens 2015 Schedule is 11th Hardest in the NFL

Jan 10, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) throws the ball in the fourth quarter during the 2014 AFC Divisional playoff football game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Every year, we tend to look long and hard at the NFL’s strength of schedule. But does it deserve that much attention? Teams often change so much from year to year that by the end of the season, the degree of difficulty on any team’s schedule is often unrecognizable from what it looked like in the preseason.

Regardless, it’s always interesting to take a peek, even before the actual schedule comes out. We do know who each team’s opponents will be next season, so we are able to put together a strength of schedule list. For the teams of the AFC North, arguably the best division in the NFL last season, things are looking pretty brutal.

The Steelers have the toughest schedule of all 32 teams, facing a group with a combined winning percentage of .579. The Bengals are number two at .563, the Browns are ninth at .543. and the Ravens are 11th at .539. Much of this has something to do with the fact that they must play each other twice, of course.

The AFC North also faces off with the AFC West, which features premium opponents like the Broncos, Chiefs, and Chargers. All three won 9+ games last season. The Ravens must also face the Super Bowl losing Seahawks and the annually tough Arizona Cardinals. All of these teams are pretty good bets to be tough opponents once again in 2015.

If the Ravens are going to contend for another Super Bowl title this coming season, they will have to do it the hard way. While I usually pay little attention to strength of schedule, it’s hard to believe that most of the team’s 2015 opponents are going to regress in a big way this coming season. But hey, you have to beat the best to be the best, right?

Here’s the entire 2015 NFL strength of schedule for all 32 teams:

Team	Record of 2015 opponents	Strength of Schedule
Pittsburgh Steelers	147-107-2	.579
Cincinnati Bengals	144-112	.563
San Francisco 49ers	143-112-1	.561
Seattle Seahawks	142-112-2	.559
Arizona Cardinals	142-113-1	.557
St. Louis Rams	141-114-1	.553
Oakland Raiders	139-116-1	.545
Kansas City Chiefs	139-116-1	.545
Cleveland Browns	138-116-2	.543
Denver Broncos	138-117-1	.541
Baltimore Ravens	137-117-2	.539
Minnesota Vikings	138-118	.539
Chicago Bears	136-120	.531
Green Bay Packers	135-120-1	.529
Detroit Lions	135-121	.527
San Diego Chargers	132-123-1	.518
Miami Dolphins	126-130	.492
New York Jets	125-131	.488
Buffalo Bills	124-131-1	.486
Washington	122-133-1	.478
New York Giants	122-133-1	.478
New England Patriots	122-134	.477
Philadelphia Eagles	121-134-1	.475
Dallas Cowboys	119-136-1	.467
Jacksonville Jaguars	118-137-1	.463
Tennessee Titans	111-144-1	.435
Carolina Panthers	111-145	.434
New Orleans Saints	109-145-2	.429
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	108-146-2	.425
Houston Texans	106-148-2	.417
Indianapolis Colts	106-149-1	.417
Atlanta Falcons	104-150-2	.409

Next: Why it's Unlikely the Ravens Would Sign Josh McCown

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