<
        >

          NFL Nation

          Baltimore Ravens 2022 schedule: Championship mettle tested in October

          Lamar Jackson needs to stay healthy if the Ravens are going to rebound from a last-place finish in the AFC North. Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire
          • Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterMay 13, 2022, 12:03 AM
            Close
              Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
            Follow on X

          BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Ravens' 2022 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Thursday.

          The season will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 8 with the Los Angeles Rams hosting the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium. ESPN opens its schedule with Monday Night Football on Sept. 12, featuring the Denver Broncos hosting the Seattle Seahawks.

          The NFL expanded to 17 regular-season games last season. The final regular-season games in 2022 will be played Jan. 8, 2023. The playoffs begin Jan. 14, and continue through Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12, in Glendale, Arizona.

          Here's what in store for the Ravens:

          Schedule

          Sept. 11: at N.Y. Jets

          Sept. 18: vs. Miami

          Sept. 25: at New England

          Oct. 2: vs. Buffalo

          Oct. 9: vs. Cincinnati (SNF)

          Oct. 16: at N.Y. Giants

          Oct. 23: vs. Cleveland

          Oct. 27: at Tampa Bay (TNF)

          Nov. 7: at New Orleans (MNF)

          Nov. 13: BYE

          Nov. 20: vs. Carolina

          Nov. 27: at Jacksonville

          Dec. 4: vs. Denver

          Dec. 11: at Pittsburgh

          Dec. 17 or 18: at Cleveland

          Dec. 24: vs. Atlanta

          Jan. 1: vs. Pittsburgh

          Jan. 7 or 8: at Cincinnati

          Strength of schedule: 23rd, .474

          Biggest takeaway

          Lamar Jackson and the Ravens will find out whether they are championship contenders in October, when they face the Buffalo Bills (the current Super Bowl favorite), Cincinnati Bengals (the Super Bowl runners-up) and Cleveland Browns (with newly acquired quarterback Deshaun Watson) at home before traveling to play at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady on Thursday Night Football. Baltimore is 9-1 in October with Jackson as its starting quarterback. To win their first AFC North title since 2019, the Ravens will have to prove they can win away from home – and stay healthy – late in the season. For the third straight year, Baltimore plays three AFC North road games in December and January. It's the first time this has happened since the 2002 division realignment. The Ravens have played 11 road division games in December and January since 2016 (tied for the most in the NFL), going 4-7 (3-2 with Jackson as their starter).

          Revenge game

          Actually, it’s revenge games. Circle Weeks 9 and 18. The Ravens know the road to the AFC North title goes through Cincinnati, and they have the tire burns from last year to prove it. The Bengals became the first team to produce multiple 40-point games in a season against the Ravens, and Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow became the first player in NFL history with multiple 400-yard passing games in a season against the same team. This probably explains why Baltimore significantly upgraded its secondary this offseason. The Ravens’ biggest free-agent splash was safety Marcus Williams, and their first pick in the NFL draft was safety Kyle Hamilton. The Ravens received prime opportunities to show how much they’ve improved against the Bengals. Baltimore has a nationally televised Sunday night home game against Cincinnati (Oct. 9) and then plays at the Bengals in the regular-season finale (Jan. 7 or 8), which could decide the AFC North title.

          What the oddsmakers think

          The oddsmakers have the Ravens’ win total at 9.5. Baltimore will hit the over as long as Jackson remains healthy, which was a major issue last year. Since Jackson took over as the starter midway through the 2018 season, his winning percentage (.755, 37-12 record) ranks only behind that of Patrick Mahomes. Without Jackson, Baltimore is 2-5 (.286) over the past three seasons.

          Bold prediction

          The Ravens win the AFC North to become the NFL’s latest team to go from last place to first. This has happened in 17 of the last 19 seasons, and the Ravens are in a great position to continue this trend. Baltimore gets back six starters who suffered season-ending injuries last year, along with a healthy and motivated Jackson, who is entering his fifth-year option. That’s a major boost to a Ravens team that lost five games by three points or fewer last season, including a one-point defeat to the eventual Super Bowl champion Rams.