Ravens' brutal upcoming schedule should have fans seriously worried

The start of the Baltimore Ravens 2024 season hasn't necessarily gone exceptionally well. That's to say the least. Overall, it's been a mixed bag. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been exactly as advertised. He's been making plays all over the field and doing his best to keep the team in games. However, as of right now, he has to do too much.

As amazing and electric as he is, they need more from the other stars on this team. However, that's not the only thing this team needs to improve on. The offensive line needs to find a reliable unit. The undisciplined penalties and unforced errors need to go. The playcalling needs to be better. There's a lot to fix and little time to delve into the nuances.

The Ravens need to fix these common occurrences and they'll need to fix them soon. After a Week 2 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Ravens are a winless 0-2 on the season. Unfortunately, the Ravens' schedule doesn't get any easier. It actually only gets more difficult.

After an opening week game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Week 2 tilt against the Raiders was supposed to be their "easy" game going into a brutal schedule stretch. The loss to the Raiders squarely puts the Ravens in dangerous territory and they'll need to be the team we know they are if they want to navigate the gauntlet of upcoming opponents.

The Baltimore Ravens' brutal upcoming schedule should have fans seriously worried

In an unfortunate series of events, the Ravens find themselves in a hole that could potentially only get deeper. Aside from an understandable loss to the Chiefs, the Week 2 loss against the Raiders is atrocious and will mean Baltimore has some must-win games ahead of them.

The three upcoming games on the Ravens' schedule will feature the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, and the Cincinnati Bengals. Each team fields a top-10 quarterback with Dak Prescott from Dallas, Josh Allen from Buffalo, and Joe Burrow from Cincinnati.

We knew the Ravens' schedule would be a nightmare before the season began, but being winless at this point in the schedule has to seriously worry fans. Baltimore could be 0-5 when this stretch of the schedule finishes. It's absolutely worrisome. The Cowboys’ Week 3 matchup carries some serious “must-win” weight, considering that since 2002, out of 103 teams that started 0-3, only two have ever made the playoffs.

Even though the Bills are the only team out of the three undefeated, many still believe in the Cowboys and Bengals. In ESPN's Week 3 power rankings, all three opponents still crack the top 20. It’s not something to take lightly—power rankings are just a snapshot of where teams stand at any given moment. Any of these three teams could easily claim the top spot at some point this season, and that’s what makes it so daunting.

Baltimore has historically not shown up when the lights are brightest. Adding to this layer of terror should be the underlying factor, the more games the Ravens lose, the more pressure will mount and the brighter the lights will become. There will be nowhere to hide, and everyone to blame. It's officially spooky season and the Ravens have put their fans in a worrisome spot.

There is good news. Even though the Ravens haven't added a win to their win column, it's not like they haven't shown they're still a good football team - and that might be the most frustrating part. The Ravens were in the Chiefs game for the whole 60 minutes. The same goes for the Raiders game. Undisciplined play and unforced errors cost them both and now the real challenge begins.

The Ravens likely won’t come out of this stretch 0-5 (though it’s not impossible), but it’s tough to imagine them emerging with a 3-2 record either. We predict the Ravens will come out 2-3 with wins over the Cowboys and Bills. Regardless, this is a nightmare scenario for Baltimore. However, to be the best you have to beat the best. The ball's in the Ravens' court now.

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