Looking at the Baltimore Ravens Schedule for the Second Half of the Season

Eight games are in the books, and there are still eight games to go in the 2014 regular season. The Baltimore Ravens find themselves with a record of 5-3 and in second place in the AFC North behind the Cincinnati Bengals, who hold a record of 4-2-1.

Three of the Ravens’ wins were against teams from the NFC South, and they were all dominating wins. They defeated the Carolina Panthers 38-10 in Week 4, demolished the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-17 in Week 6 and beat the Atlanta Falcons 29-7 in Week 7. Their other two wins were against AFC North teams (the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers).

The Ravens are accustomed to having very difficult schedules. The reason that occurs is as a result of two things: They play in the toughest division in the AFC, and they always finish the season in first or second place, which means they have to face the other first or second place teams in the American Football Conference.

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This year however, they had one of the lower strengths of schedule in the league. Four of their remaining eight games are against teams with a record of under .500, and two others are against teams that finished third in their division in 2013.

Let’s get into specifics now. Next week, the Ravens will travel to the Steel City to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football. Both the Ravens and the Steelers hold records of 5-3, and with the Ravens coming out victorious in the first match up between these two teams, it will make this game even more interesting for Baltimore.

After that Week 9 match up, the Ravens will not have another division game until they face the Browns in Week 17. That is a really good thing, because division battles are always tough.

After Pittsburgh, the Ravens will host the 2-6 Tennessee Titans followed by their bye week. The Ravens will then hit the road again to take on the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football. It sounds like a tough game, and it very well might be, but the Saints do currently hold an unimpressive record of 3-4.

In Week 13 they will take on the San Diego Chargers. That will be a tough match up against a 5-3 team, but being at home will drastically improve the Ravens chances. West Coast teams typically struggle on cross-country road trips. They will then head south to take on the Miami Dolphins, who have been a very up-and-down team this season.

Following that, they will host the Jacksonville Jaguars and head right back down south to take on the Houston Texans. Those teams hold a combined record of 5-11. They will then cap the season off with a divisional match up against the Cleveland Browns in M&T Bank Stadium.

Although they fell short in a big game to the Cincinnati Bengals this past week, the division race is far from over. They have a big game next week against the Steelers, and if they could come out victorious, they would be in great shape for the rest of the season.

Don’t get down Ravens fans. The second half of the season is coming up, and it’s time for teams to make their runs at the postseason.