Another highlight of the NFL offseason will take place Thursday night when the league reveals the 2022 regular-season schedule.
The league has already announced its Week 2 Monday night doubleheader featuring the Tennessee Titans at the Buffalo Bills and the Minnesota Vikings at the Philadelphia Eagles. The NFL also revealed the Christmas Day matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Denver Broncos and its five games for the international series in London, Germany and Mexico City.
The Ravens will play eight games at home and nine on the road in 2022 while facing teams from the NFC South and AFC East. By virtue of finishing last in the AFC North last season, the Ravens will also face the last-place teams in the AFC West, AFC South and NFC East.
With the rest of the Ravens’ 17-game slate set to be announced, here are five things to know:
Who are the Ravens playing at home?
Along with AFC North home games the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens will host the Bills, Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers. The Ravens’ matchup against the Broncos will be their third against quarterback Russell Wilson and the first since he was traded from the Seattle Seahawks this offseason.
Three of those opponents — the Bills, Steelers and Bengals — made the playoffs last season.
Who are the Ravens playing on the road?
Outside of the Ravens’ road matchups against divisional foes, they will play at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Jacksonville Jaguars and Giants.
This will be the Ravens’ first matchup against star quarterback Tom Brady since he joined the Bucs before the 2020 season and won his seventh Super Bowl title. This could be the final season for the 44-year-old veteran, who will join Fox Sports as its lead NFL analyst after he retires on a reported a 10-year, $375 million contract, the most lucrative in sports broadcasting history.
How many prime-time games will the Ravens have?
NFL teams are allowed to have as many as five prime-time games. Last season, the Ravens played in five, including two games each on Sunday and Monday night as well as a Thursday night matchup against the Dolphins.
After the Ravens finished last season with an 8-9 record and missed the postseason for the first time since 2017, it’s uncertain whether they will get the maximum number of prime-time games.
However, they still have one of the most exciting players in the league in quarterback Lamar Jackson, and a handful of their star players are expected to return from injury, including cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters and running back J.K. Dobbins. Not to mention, the Ravens’ prime-time matchups against the Las Vegas Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts were some of the league’s most exciting games last season.
The game against the Bills seems like the logical choice since it will be a matchup between two of the best young quarterbacks in the league in Jackson and Josh Allen. One of the divisional games, as well as the matchup against Brady and the Buccaneers, should also be in consideration for a prime-time slot. Plus, the Jets and Giants play in the country’s largest television market.
How far will the Ravens need to travel?
The Ravens will travel the third-fewest miles (9,500) in the NFL in 2022, according to the Boston Herald’s Bill Speros. Only the Detroit Lions (8,348) and Steelers (6,442) will travel fewer miles.
The Seahawks (29,446) will travel the most miles in the league, followed by the Broncos (27,398) and Jaguars (25,534).
Will the Ravens play overseas?
Despite matchups against the Buccaneers, Giants, Jaguars and Saints, all of whom are scheduled to play overseas, the Ravens will not have to leave the country for a game this season.
The Bucs will face the Seahawks at Allianz Arena in Munich on Nov. 13, while the Saints will play the Minnesota Vikings (Oct. 2) and the Green Bay Packers will take on the Giants (Oct. 9) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. The Broncos meet the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London on Oct. 30, and the San Francisco 49ers will face the Arizona Cardinals at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Nov. 21.
The Ravens’ last game overseas was a 44-7 loss to the Jaguars in London in 2017.
Who are the AFC North and Super Bowl favorites?
After trading for star quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Browns (+170) currently have the best odds to win the division, followed by the Ravens (+210), Bengals (+220) and Steelers (+900), according to Vegas Insider.
The Ravens (+2160) have the 11th-best odds of winning Super Bowl 57, according to the Vegas Insider consensus. The Bills (+670) are the betting favorites, followed by the Buccaneers (+750), Chiefs (+930), Packers (+1060) and Rams (+1080).
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Source: Berkshire mont
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