Breakdown: The bad news is the Baltimore Ravens play five of their first seven games on the road. The Ravens are only home twice (Week 3 against the Bengals and Week 5 against the Browns) through the month of October. It's the first time this has happened to Baltimore since 2000, when the Ravens overcame that brutal start and won the franchise's first Super Bowl. The good news is the Ravens are at home for six of their final nine games. Baltimore leaves home once in the final four weeks of the season, which puts the Ravens in position to make a strong push toward the postseason. The only problem is none of those four teams (the Seahawks, Chiefs, Steelers and at the Bengals) had a losing record in 2014 and three of them reached the playoffs. There is plenty of optimism toward the Ravens considering they received five prime-time games. It was only a year ago when the Ravens were on national television three times, their fewest since 2009.
Complaint department: Where to begin? The Ravens wanted back-to-back games in the Bay Area to remove one cross-country flight. Instead, the Ravens open the season with trips at Denver and Oakland and then travel to San Francisco and Arizona in consecutive weeks in October. The Ravens wanted a rare home Monday Night Football game. Instead, Baltimore plays at Arizona in Week 7 and at Cleveland in Week 12 on Monday night -- the ninth and 10th times the Ravens play on the road in their last 11 MNF games. The Ravens travel to Miami on a short week following the Cleveland game. For good measure, the Ravens must travel on another shortened week when they play at the Steelers on a Thursday night game in Week 4. This one is deserved because Baltimore hosted Pittsburgh on Thursday night the past two seasons. Still, it makes you wonder whom the Ravens ticked off in the league office.
Finishing with the division: One of the strangest quirks in last season's schedule was the fact the Ravens played only one AFC North team in the final eight weeks of the season. This year, the Ravens have a chance to make up ground on their division rivals, squaring off against all three in the last six weeks of the regular season. It's even more interesting with the Ravens finishing up at home against the Steelers and at the Bengals. All three teams are expected to battle for the AFC North title once again. The Ravens seem to thrive in facing AFC North teams when it matters the most. Since coach John Harbaugh became coach in 2008, the Ravens 39-21 (.650) against the division in November and December. That's the best record among AFC North teams over that span.
Strength of schedule: 11th, .539
Ravens Regular-Season Schedule (all times Eastern)
Week 1: Sunday, Sept. 13, at Denver, 4:25 p.m.
Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 20, at Oakland, 4:05 p.m.
Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 27, Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Week 4: Thursday, Oct. 1, at Pittsburgh, 8:25 p.m.
Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 11, Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 18, at San Francisco, 4:25 p.m.
Week 7: Monday, Oct. 26, at Arizona, 8:30 p.m.
Week 8: Sunday, Nov. 1, San Diego, 1 p.m.
Week 9: BYE
Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 15, Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 22, St. Louis, 1 p.m.
Week 12: Monday, Nov. 30, at Cleveland, 8:30 p.m.
Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 6, at Miami, 1 p.m.
Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 13, Seattle, 8:30 p.m.
Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 20, Kansas City, 1 p.m.
Week 16: Sunday, Dec. 27, Pittsburgh, 8:30 p.m.
Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 3, at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.