The Baltimore Ravens will kick their 2023 regular season off on Sunday, Sept. 10, when they'll host the Houston Texans at the M&T Bank Stadium.
The campaign will start on Thursday with the reigning champions Kansas City Chiefs facing an up-and-coming Detroit Lions franchise that will aim to pull off an upset. That is hard to envision happening next Sunday when the Texans go against our beloved Ravens.
With just mere days (hours!) left before the ball gets rolling (and this season more than ever, flying) in the confines of The Bank, here is a review of the last seven openers played by the Ravens from the 2016 victory against the Buffalo Bills to last season's trouncing of the lowly New York Jets.
2016: Ravens vs. Bills, W 13-7
Baltimore entered the 2016 season led by veteran quarterback Joe Flacco and coming off their first losing season since 2007, as they wrapped up 2015 with a dreadful 5-11 record.
That wasn't too much of a problem for the Ravens in dealing with the visiting Bills, as they outscored them by six points in a low-scoring affair.
As many as 17 of the total 20 points scored by both teams came in the first two-quarters of play, with the Ravens adding three late points thanks to a field-goal kick converted by Justin Tucker with 5:39 minutes remaining.
Flacco completed 22-of-33 passes for 258 yards and his lone touchdown throw found the hands of Mike Wallace, who led all Ravens receivers with 91 yards on three receptions.
Steve Smith Sr. caught five passes for 19 yards, while Justin Forsett and Terrance West combined to rush the rock for 73 yards and no touchdowns on 22 totes, both racking up at least 10 carries each.