The Baltimore Ravens have their work cut out for them if they want to sneak their way into the playoffs this season. Their final four games come on the road against the Bengals, at home versus the Patriots, on the road against the Packers, and at home versus the Steelers. That is quite the gauntlet to close out the year.
Fortunately, that Week 16 game that has the Patriots coming to M&T Bank Stadium just got bigger, as the league announced on Monday it'd be flexed into Sunday Night Football. The matchup was originally scheduled for 1:00 EST that Sunday but now it'll be in primetime as a standalone game
Ravens/Patriots Week 16 game flexed into primetime
This is obviously a big game for both teams. For the Ravens, they need to keep winning in order to ensure they make the playoffs. At this point, making it into the dance as a wild card team would be difficult (though not impossible) but doing so as a division winner is still possible. They're only one game behind the Steelers so the Ravens need to keep winning and hope that the Steelers slip up once or twice in their final four games.
As for the opponent, New England has put together a stunning season in 2025. The Patriots are 11-2 and vying for the top seed in the AFC. They'll finish their 2025 season facing off with the Bills, Ravens, Jets, and Dolphins, so there are some tough and "easy" games remaining for them.
The hope is that the Ravens can do what they couldn't do on Thanksgiving and beat the Bengals this week. That'd set them up at 7-7 heading into that key Week 16 showdown versus the Pats. A win that week would not only put Baltimore back above .500 but it'd hopefully give this team the momentum it needs for a potential playoff run.
This team has been flawed in 2025 but when they've been on, they've looked as good as anyone. Let's hope that team returns sooner rather than later because the 2025 Ravens could very well be running out of time.