At first glance, the Ravens’ 2016 schedule is noticeably easier than last season. When the 2015 slate of games was released, we wondered whether John Harbaugh or Steve Bisciotti had gotten on the wrong side of someone in the league office. The first seven weeks were brutal, and so was the 1-6 record that followed it.
Like every year, this year’s schedule has its challenges. The December Monday night game in New England will be a battle. Tom Brady and the Patriots play their best football as the weather gets colder. The games on the road in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati to close the season are even more brutal. In the last six weeks, they’d be lucky to go .500.
The early part of the schedule, however, looks favorable to the Ravens. Which is just what the doctor ordered for a team coming off a disappointing 5-11 season.
After racking up more frequent flier miles than a Southwest flight attendant in 2015, they don’t leave the Eastern Time Zone once in the first half of 2016. The furthest they travel is Jacksonville in week three.
Last season included back to back west coast games twice in the first seven weeks with a trip to Pittsburgh on a short week sandwiched in between. It proved to be a daunting task and the Ravens season felt like it was over before it even started. This year, their longest flight in the entire season will be to Dallas. I’m sure the operations team will be thankful.
It’s not just the low amount of mileage the Ravens will rack up that makes the schedule less demanding. Six of the Ravens first seven opponents this year are teams that failed to reach the postseason in 2015. The only playoff team they’ll face before their week 8 bye is a home matchup against the Washington Redskins.
Compare that to last season when the Ravens faced four playoff teams through the first seven weeks of the season including the eventual Super Bowl champion Broncos.
Of course, an easy early schedule means a more difficult one in the second half. Five of the Ravens final nine games will come against divisional opponents. They’ll have to play in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati in games that will likely have a lot on the line. But after the way last season went, a fast start could prove absolutely crucial this year.
And the schedule makers gave the 2016 Ravens a golden opportunity for a blistering jump out of the gate.
