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Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens finally were able to work things out long-term and can now fully focus on the 2023 NFL season. There is also a new offensive coordinator in town with Todd Monken. After finishing 10-7 in 2022, Baltimore will be looking to get the most out of this new offense in 2023 and propel the team back to a division title. Will that happen, though? With the 2023 schedule announced, let’s predict the season for the Ravens game-by-game.
Week 1: vs. Houston Texans: Win
The Texans have a bright future ahead of them, but they are still a young team with a large learning curve ahead. The Ravens have been historically great in season openers as well under John Harbaugh, with losing only four times, and going 3-1 with Lamar Jackson under center. The Texans added to their defense over the offseason and should improve against the run, but after giving up a league leading 2,894 yards on the ground last season, Baltimore will give them trouble early.
Week 2: @ Cincinnati Bengals: Loss
After an easy week one matchup, the competition gets turned up against their division rival in the Bengals. While the Ravens get Houston, the Bengals get to start with AFC North action in the Cleveland Browns. In a game where Baltimore has to go on the road, they will come up just shy of a victory as the defense for Cincinnati steps up to make one more crucial stop to seal the victory and continue the trend from last season with the home team winning.
Week 3: vs.Indianapolis Colts: Win
Back at home against another AFC South team rolling out a rookie head coach and quarterback duo. After losing to Cincinnati, this game will be one where Baltimore gets back in the win column as the defense will be able to prepare easily for Anthony Richardson. The Ravens also have the players on defense to cause Richardson problems overall in his third game as he still learns to adjust to the NFL.
Week 4: @ Cleveland Browns: Win
Another road AFC North matchup early in the season comes against the Browns. The last time these two faced, Cleveland secured the 13-3 victory. That was in a game where Jackson was not healthy. With Jackson back on the field, this offense will be able to test the Browns defense more than they did in the last game. The Cleveland wide receiver room still isn’t fantastic, leading to the offense still being run by Nick Chubb, slow him down and the Ravens pick up this victory.
Week 5: @ Pittsburgh Steelers: Loss
Back-to-back division games are tough to begin with, add in the factor they are both on the road and it becomes unfavorable. When these two teams play, the games tend to be low scoring, that will be the case once again. In these types of games, the result could go either way, but the advantage goes to the Steelers at home to secure the win as T.J. Watt and the defense slow down Jackson just enough.
Week 6: @ Tennessee Titans (London): Win
This matchup has turned into a great rivalry, and it gets to go international with being played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Much like the Browns, Tennessee doesn’t have a strong passing game and rely on their ground game with Derrick Henry. In the regular season, the Ravens have done a good enough job of containing Henry, allowing only 180 yards and two touchdowns over 43 attempts. With slowing Henry down, the Ravens will be able to secure the victory.
Week 7: vs Detroit Lions: Loss
Watch for this game to be a high-scoring affair. The Ravens defense wasn’t exactly great against the pass, allowing 3,947 yards and 20 touchdowns through the air. Jared Goff led the Lions’ high-powered offense with 4,438 pass yards and 29 touchdowns last season, and will test the Ravens secondary with Amon-Ra St. Brown and also gets Jameson Williams back off his suspension. Between them and Jahmyr Gibbs in the backfield, they will be able to match the Ravens and outscore them in this game.
Week 8: @ Arizona Cardinals: Win
Kyler Murray could be back by this point and gives the Cardinals a chance, but even then, how he will be coming off knee reconstruction will remain to be seen. The Cardinals roster needs major work, and this will allow a better Baltimore team to go on the road and secure the win.
Week 9: vs. Seattle Seahawks: Loss
The Seahawks run defense was not great, but bring in Bobby Wagner and that should be improved. Seattle also has the secondary with Coby Bryant, Tariq Woolen, and rookie Devon Witherspoon to slow down the passing attack of Baltimore. The Ravens defense will face a major test with the Seahawks’ offense as it is well-balanced between the pass with DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to test this secondary. They also have the run game to test the Ravens defensive interior with Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet.
Week 10: vs Cleveland Browns: Win
With a loss against Seattle, the Ravens will be looking to get back on track at home against the Browns. Their run defense will do just enough again to slow down Chubb, and that will lead to the Ravens getting the sweep.
Week 11: vs. Cincinnati Bengals: Win
After the loss earlier in the season, the Ravens get back-to-back wins. The Ravens played the Bengals close at home last season and won with a Justin Tucker field goal to end the game. In a primetime matchup, the game will be close once again, but the atmosphere does just enough and the Ravens are the one this time to come up with the extra defensive stop to slow Joe Burrow down.
Week 12: @Los Angeles Chargers: Win
The Chargers have an offense that can test the Ravens on defense as Justin Herbert will always put the team in a spot to win. The Chargers though still have some areas to work out on defense against the run, and if they will be improved this season remains to be seen. Until that is shown, plus the Ravens getting extra time to prepare coming off a Thursday game, expect the Ravens to secure the win.
Week 13: Bye Week
Week 14: vs Los Angeles Rams: Win
While Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald should be back to being fully healthy this season, this Rams team still lacks talent outside of them. With the Ravens coming off their bye week, they should easily pick up the win against a Rams team looking like they are entering a rebuild.
Week 15: @ Jacksonville Jaguars: Loss
The Jaguars are an ascending team, as shown by their playoff run last year in the first season under Doug Pederson. Trevor Lawrence led the Jaguars to a win last season against the Ravens in a game where he threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns, and now he gets Calvin Ridley on offense. The defense also held Jackson to a 50% completion percentage. This will be a close game, but one where the Jaguars pose just enough of a challenge to hand the Ravens a loss.
Week 16: @ San Francisco 49ers: Loss
Against this 49ers defense, the Ravens will be slowed down offensively. Nick Bosa and the pass rush will get after Jackson, while the secondary locks down the receiving options Baltimore has. The Ravens will also have a challenge slowing down Christian McCaffrey, as he helps lead San Francisco to a win.
Week 17: vs. Miami Dolphins: Win
After back-to-back losses, the Ravens avoid another one by picking up a win against the Dolphins. Last season the Ravens got torched on defense by Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, this time they step things up and make sure Tua Tagovailoa can’t have time to get the ball in their hands.
Week 18: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Loss
With 10 wins already, the Ravens should have a playoff spot secured, but the outcome of this game will depend on if they can get the division title. If they can’t and they rest their starters, this becomes a heavy Pittsburgh lean. Even if the ravens do play their starters, they haven’t beaten the Steelers at home since 2019. With how gritty the Steelers play towards the end of the season, they will get a late season victory.
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–2023 NFL Draft Steals: AFC North
