Ravens New Schedule Delivers a Christmas Present
The 2024 schedule for the Baltimore Ravens was just released on May 15th and despite the nervousness of many fans regarding the level of difficulty the schedule presents, the excitement it garnered is far greater.
Much of this excitement surrounds the rematch between Baltimore and Kansas City after the incredibly disappointing outcome of last season’s conference championship game for Lamar supporters and Mahomes detractors alike. While a couple of things are theorized to account for Baltimore’s loss, such as the chosen referee being none other than Shawn Smith, a man known for favoring the visiting team which in this case was the Chiefs, or the more conspiratorial belief that the NFL scriptwriters were working in the Chiefs favor to ensure the increased viewership Taylor Swift’s appearance at the Super Bowl would bring, the overall success of Baltimore’s 2024 draft class, with up-and-coming star players like Nate Wiggins and Roger Rosengarten, and the highly anticipated addition of Heisman winner Derrick Henry give the Ravens a newfound strength that exceeds their team’s already established power. Even with the saddening loss of Patrick Queen, to the arch rival Steelers no less, fans still approach this new season with the hope of a strong return.
But aside from the kickoff game, another moment of excitement for Ravens fans came after the announcement that Baltimore will be playing against the Houston Texans on Christmas day. This proved itself to be an exciting announcement for a couple of reasons, the first of which is that due to Baltimore’s appearance in a Christmas game against the San Francisco 49ers last year, many assumed that that served as an indication the Ravens would be home for the holidays.
Not much can beat the excitement felt by football lovers everywhere surrounding last year’s Christmas game. The enthusiasm for that game can be attributed both to the fact that it was a race between both teams in securing the number one seed position in their respective conferences and to Baltimore’s victory despite widely held beliefs of their underdog status in comparison to San Francisco, who at the time had two MVP candidates on the field: Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey.
A second source of excitement for fans stems from the general success and strength of both Baltimore and Houston. While Baltimore’s strength has been discussed for some time now, the Texans’ more glossed-over triumphs deserve to be recognized. Despite the Texans’ experiencing a Divisional Round exit in the 2023-2024 playoffs, at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens might I add, their entrance into the playoffs still acts as a mark of their success as it was their first time qualifying since 2019. The Texans also notably saw incredible performances from their rookies resulting in their full sweep of the Rookie of the Year awards with quarterback CJ Stroud winning Offensive Rookie of the Year and defensive end Will Anderson Jr. taking home Defensive Rookie of the Year. Now with what many consider to be a slightly above-average draft class, the Texans stand as decent competition for the Ravens which will hopefully make for an interesting game on December 25th.
The Baltimore Ravens 2024 schedule holds its fair share of trials and difficulties as well as enthralling possibilities and, as the Ravens have proved in past performances, they are prepared to face it head-on.
Watch out Kansas City, and Merry early Christmas, Houston.
