The only silver lining from the Baltimore Ravens finishing last place in the AFC North in 2021: the team has one of the easiest schedules in the league this upcoming season.
The Ravens had a season they’ll want to forget last year, finishing with an 8-9 record and tallying up as many as 11 close games throughout the season.
Injuries devastated the roster from the start, and Baltimore ultimately had too uphill of a battle to climb to make it out of the AFC North, much less reach the postseason.
In 2022, the Ravens’ fate looks very different as Lamar Jackson and a rejuvenated squad look to rewrite success into this next chapter of the franchise’s history.
NFL.com’s Jeremy Bergman ranked the 10 most favorable team schedules based on travel, weather, and other factors and had Baltimore at second overall:
"“For the Ravens, who finished last in the North in 2021, the crop of opponents is even more mediocre. After missing the tail end of last season, Lamar Jackson has a chance to lead the team to a strong start while playing the entire AFC East in their first four weeks…With fewer prime-time games on the 2022 slate compared to those of recent years, the Ravens could fly under the radar into the second half of their schedule (starting with the Panthers and Jaguars) and make a run back to the postseason.”"
The Ravens have the second-easiest schedule in the league in 2022
No section of the Ravens’ schedule strikes us as egregiously unfair, and Baltimore’s toughest matchups are projected to be against playoff heavyweights like the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For the most part, though, the Ravens have arguably the easiest schedule in the AFC North, which should set the team up for unbridled success this season.
That all being said, Baltimore will still face its fair share of hurdles, particularly against the AFC East. The Ravens start their season off against the young and hungry New York Jets, and they will also face a perennially tough Patriots team as well as a much improved Dolphins team.
No game is a guaranteed victory in 2022 and the Ravens should enter each matchup with a chip on their shoulder.
And of course, to avoid a repeat of 2021, Baltimore must stay healthy all year round to give themselves a shot at postseason success.
On paper, the Ravens have great odds of making a deep run in the playoffs, but as with every schedule, there are a handful of trap games Baltimore needs to be aware of.