The Ravens will open the 2019 regular season on the road not far from Lamar Jackson’s Florida hometown. They’ll close it with a home game against the AFC North team they dethroned for last season’s division crown.
The Ravens’ Week 1 trip to Miami to face the Dolphins and their Week 17 finale in Baltimore against the Pittsburgh Steelers are fitting bookends to a 16-game schedule as notable for its balance as the attention Jackson will draw.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the Ravens are just the fourth team since the NFL switched to a 16-game schedule in 1978 to alternate home and away every game of the season. There will be no home stands in Baltimore this year; there will also not be any road swings.
Which is not to say that there won’t be difficult stretches. Starting with a Week 7 trip to Seattle — notable for Ravens safety Earl Thomas’ reunion with the Seahawks team he starred for over many years — the Ravens will play four 2018 playoff teams over a five-game span.
The Ravens will host the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots on "Sunday Night Football" after a Week 8 bye, face the AFC South champion Houston Texans two weeks later at M&T Bank Stadium and battle the Super Bowl runner-up Rams in Los Angeles on "Monday Night Football" in Week 12.
The Ravens also will host longtime defensive leader C.J. Mosley and the New York Jets in Week 15 in a "Thursday Night Football" matchup. A Baltimore reunion with new Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, a longtime fixture in the Ravens defense, is set for Week 2.
The Ravens will begin AFC North play in Week 4 as they closed it in 2018: with a home game against the Cleveland Browns, the trendy offseason pick as division favorites. But with a Week 3 date in Kansas City against the Chiefs and reigning Most Valuable Player Patrick Mahomes, a game against fellow quarterback Baker Mayfield might come as somewhat of a brief relief.
For only the fourth time ever and the first time since 2007, the Ravens and Steelers will face off in Week 17. The Ravens' dramatic win over the Browns in last year's regular-season finale knocked Pittsburgh out of playoff contention and handed the Ravens their first AFC North title since 2012. For the first time since 2006, the rivals are not scheduled to clash in prime time.
The Ravens also will host the Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers in 2019. Elsewhere, they'll hit the road to face the Buffalo Bills, Steelers, Bengals and Browns.
Ravens 2019 schedule
Week 1 @ Dolphins (Sunday, Sept. 8) 1 p.m. CBS
Week 2 vs. Cardinals (Sunday, Sept. 15) 1 p.m. Fox
Week 3 @ Chiefs (Sunday, Sept. 22) 1 p.m. CBS
Week 4 vs. Browns (Sunday, Sept. 29) 1 p.m. CBS
Week 5 @ Steelers (Sunday, Oct. 6) 1 p.m. CBS
Week 6 vs. Bengals (Sunday, Oct. 13) 1 p.m. CBS
Week 7 @ Seahawks (Sunday, Oct. 20) 4:25 p.m. Fox
Week 8: Bye
Week 9 vs. Patriots (Sunday, Nov. 3) 8:20 p.m., NBC
Week 10 @ Bengals (Sunday, Nov. 10) 1 p.m. CBS
Baltimore Ravens Insider
Week 11 vs. Texans (Sunday, Nov. 17) 1 p.m. CBS
Week 12 @ Rams (Monday, Nov. 25) 8:15 p.m., ESPN
Week 13 vs. 49ers (Sunday, Dec. 1) 1 p.m. Fox
Week 14 @ Bills (Sunday, Dec. 8) 1 p.m. CBS
Week 15 vs. Jets (Thursday, Dec. 12) 8:20 p.m., Fox, NFL Network
Week 16 @ Browns (Sunday, Dec. 22) 1 p.m. CBS
Week 17 vs. Steelers (Sunday, Dec. 29) 1 p.m. CBS