Predicting the 30th Season of Ravens Football

Eight weeks from tonight, the 2025 NFL season kicks off. Three days after that, the Baltimore Ravens begin their 30th season.

Anticipation is already high, but will increase anyway because this season of Ravens football has all the makings of being special.

When forecasting a team’s fate, there’s a significant portion of injuries and luck you must acknowledge but can’t control. Players, coaches, and systems that have been hyped up don’t always perform in kind. Though these men are lavishly compensated, their lives aren’t devoid of distractions. Things happen that can derail a team’s season. As a matter of fact, many things happen behind closed doors that media and fans never know about which affect team chemistry, and ultimately, team performance.

The best safeguard against uncertainty is stability and known expectations. That’s why teams that do the best the most—Baltimore, Philadelphia, Kansas City, San Francisco—have established head coaches, a clearly-defined team identity, proven star players, “plus” depth, and cutting-edge front office personnel to sustain franchise growth.

Often times in interviews, someone may ask, “What do you do better than anyone else?” If I were to answer that question on behalf of the Ravens, I’d say: “We scout, acquire, develop, and retain the best people.”

Here are core elements of Super Bowl-caliber teams. Let’s see how many the Ravens have:

• Star quarterback: check
• Veteran head coach: check
• Really good offensive line: check
• Stud pass rushers/pass rush unit: check
• Lockdown corners: check
• Fierce leader/captain on defense: check
• Dominant run game: check
• Excellent special teams: check
• Good mix of experience, youth, and depth: check

The Ravens have no excuse this year. Even before the signing of cornerback Jaire Alexander, Baltimore was in great position. Now, according to FanDuel, the Ravens are tied for 2nd-favorites to win Super Bowl LX (+700), behind the Eagles (+650).

To get there, they’ll need to successfully navigate a tricky schedule. Baltimore’s first six games are no joke. Besides the Browns, the Ravens will have to play the Bills, Lions, Chiefs,

Texans, and Rams before their Week 7 bye. Those five teams combined for a record of 63-22 last season, which would roughly equate to an average season record of 13-4. That’s the quality of opponents the Ravens face right out of the gate.

Then, after the bye week, the Ravens host the Bears, followed by three straight road games, three straight home games, and three of their last four on the road. This season figures to be a roller coaster, so consistency and a firm foundation is paramount.

While everything mentioned above is important, the most important part of this season is the most important part of this team: Lamar Jackson. He’s the best football player in the world, and therefore, has the most expectations on his shoulders.

Speaking of expectations, here’s how the Ravens have fared each month with Jackson as their starting quarterback:

•  September: 11-9 (55.0%)
•  October: 19-5 (79.2%)
• November: 17-7 (70.8%)
• December: 20-4 (83.3%)
• January (regular season): 2-0 (100.0%)
• Postseason: 3-5 (37.5%)

Given those numbers and Baltimore’s early schedule, it’s not inconceivable that they will have a sub-par first quarter of the season. However, we’ve seen this many times before in Baltimore. The Ravens start slow but ramp up as December nears. Their program is geared toward best performance in the latter stages of the season.

Here is the Ravens’ 2025 schedule, along with predictions for each game, and predictions for team award winners, the NFL postseason, and Baltimore’s Week 1 roster projection.

Week 1 at Bills (Sunday Night Football)

WIN, Ravens 31-Bills 29

Season record: 1-0 (0-0)

Week 2 vs. Browns

WIN, Ravens 23-Browns 14

Season record: 2-0 (1-0)

Week 3 vs. Lions (Monday Night Football)

WIN, Ravens 28-Lions 24

Season record: 3-0 (1-0)

Week 4 at Chiefs

LOSS, Chiefs 29-Ravens 17

Season record: 3-1 (1-0)

Week 5 vs. Texans

LOSS, Texans 33-Ravens 30

Season record: 3-2 (1-0)

Week 6 vs. Rams

LOSS, Rams 17-Ravens 16

Season record: 3-3 (1-0)

Week 7 BYE WEEK

Week 8 vs. Bears

WIN, Ravens 45-Bears 14

Season record: 4-3 (1-0)

Week 9 at Dolphins (Thursday Night Football)

WIN, Ravens 27-Dolphins 16

Season record: 5-3 (1-0)

Week 10 at Vikings

WIN, Ravens 35-Vikings 21

Season record: 6-3 (1-0)

Week 11 at Browns

WIN, Ravens 33-Browns 6

Season record: 7-3 (2-0)

Week 12 vs. Jets

WIN, Ravens 16-Jets 7

Season record: 8-3 (2-0)

Week 13 vs. Bengals (Thursday Night Football—Thanksgiving Night)

LOSS, Bengals 29-Ravens 28

Season record: 8-4 (2-1)

Week 14 vs. Steelers

WIN, Ravens 27-Steelers 14

Season record: 9-4 (3-1)

Week 15 at Bengals

WIN, Ravens 31-Bengals 21

Season record: 10-4 (4-1)

Week 16 vs. Patriots

WIN, Ravens 34-Patriots 20

Season record: 11-4 (4-1)

Week 17 at Packers

WIN, Ravens 27-Packers 19

Season record: 12-4 (4-1)

Week 18 at Steelers

LOSS, Steelers 23-Ravens 21

Season record: 12-5 (4-2)

Home: 6-3

Away: 6-2

Primetime: 2-1

Points scored: 469 (27.6 ppg)

Points allowed: 336 (19.8 ppg)

Playoff prediction

AFC

1. Chiefs

2. Ravens

3. Texans

4. Bills

5. Chargers

6. Bengals

7. Broncos

NFC

1. Eagles

2. Packers

3. 49ers

4. Buccaneers

5. Lions

6. Commanders

7. Rams

WILD CARD

Broncos at Ravens Ravens 30, Broncos 17

Bengals at Texans Bengals 31, Texans 30

Chargers at Bills Chargers 23, Bills 20

Rams at Packers Packers 27, Rams 22

Commanders at 49ers 49ers 33, Commanders 20

Lions at Buccaneers Lions 35, Buccaneers 21

DIVISIONAL

Bengals at Chiefs Chiefs 33, Bengals 27

Chargers at Ravens Ravens 24, Chargers 19

Lions at Eagles Lions 28, Eagles 20

49ers at Packers Packers 19, 49ers 16

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP

Ravens at Chiefs Ravens 28, Chiefs 16

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP

Lions at Packers Lions 24, Packers 23

SUPER BOWL XL, February 8, 2026 Santa Clara, California

Ravens vs. Lions (Week 3 in Baltimore: Ravens won, 28-24)

Ravens 31, Lions 27

MVP: Lamar Jackson

Ravens award winners

NFL MVP: Lamar Jackson

Defensive Player of the Year: Kyle Hamilton

Assistant Coach of the Year: Tee Martin

Ravens 53-man roster prediction (as of Week 1)

OFFENSE (26)

QB: Lamar Jackson, Cooper Rush

RB: Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, Keaton Mitchell, Rasheen Ali

FB: Patrick Ricard

TE: Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar

WR: Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Deandre Hopkins, Devontez Walker, Tylan Wallace, LaJohntay Wester

OL: Ronnie Stanley, Andrew Vorhees, Tyler Linderbaum, Daniel Faalele, Roger Rosengarten, Joseph Noteboom, Carson Vinson, Ben Cleveland, Nick Samac, Emery Jones

DEFENSE (24)

DL: Broderick Washington, Travis Jones, Nnamdi Madubuike, John Jenkins, Aeneas Peebles

EDGE: Kyle Van Noy, Odafe Oweh, Tavius Robinson, Mike Green, Adisa Isaac, Malik Hamm

ILB: Roquan Smith, Trenton Simpson, Teddye Buchanan, Jake Hummel

CB: Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins, Jaire Alexander, Chidobe Awuzie, T.J. Tampa

S: Kyle Hamilton, Malaki Starks, Sanoussi Kane, Beau Brade

SPECIAL TEAMS (3*)

K: Tyler Loop

P: Jordan Stout

LS: Nick Moore

KR: Keaton Mitchell

PR: LaJohntay Wester

Just 59 more days. We’ve got this.