The Ravens will play the NFL’s first game of the season at Kansas City in a rematch of last season’s AFC championship game, and that will begin a rugged opening stretch of the 2024 campaign, according to the official NFL schedule that was released on May 15.
In the season’s opening five weeks, the Ravens will face the Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills (Week 4) and the Cincinnati Bengals (Week 5), which should give the Ravens a quick read on where they stand in what figures to be another highly competitive AFC. It also will be baptism by fire for rookie defensive coordinator Zach Orr.
The Ravens are coming off a season in which they finished 13-4, won the AFC North title and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC, but lost to the Chiefs, 17-10, in the AFC championship game.
After opening against the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Ravens host the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2 for the home opener before visiting Dallas in Week 3.
The Ravens and reigning league Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson are scheduled for five prime-time games, including a “Monday Night Football” game at the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 12. That will match Ravens coach John Harbaugh against his brother Jim, who is in his first season as the Chargers coach.
It will also pit the Ravens against several former Ravens now with the Chargers, including offensive coordinator Greg Roman, running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards and center Bradley Bozeman. John Harbaugh is 2-0 against his brother, including the Super Bowl win after the 2012 season when the Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers.
The Ravens also go on the road for “Monday Night Football” in Week 7 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Ravens’ Week 4 home game against Josh Allen and the Bills will be on “Sunday Night Football,” and they host Joe Burrow and the Bengals for a “Thursday Night Football” prime-time game in Week 10.
In addition to the five prime-time games, the Ravens have been tapped for the league’s first foray into Wednesday Christmas Day games, as they will play at the Houston Texans at 4:30 on Christmas afternoon.
League officials at one point said there would be no games on Christmas if that fell on a Tuesday or Wednesday, but bagfuls of cash can be persuasive, and the Ravens will be part of an NFL Christmas doubleheader that will air exclusively on Netflix. This marks the second straight year the Ravens will play on the road on Christmas; they won at San Francisco on Christmas night a year ago.
In the other Christmas Day game, the Chiefs will face the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1 p.m. To compensate for those teams playing on a Wednesday, the NFL has slotted those four teams into the previous Saturday; the Ravens will host the Steelers on Dec. 21 at M&T Bank Stadium. The first meeting between the Ravens and archrival Steelers — now featuring former Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen — takes place in Pittsburgh in Week 11.
The Ravens won’t have their bye until Week 14, one week after hosting the Philadelphia Eagles. After their bye, the Ravens close the season against the New York Giants, the Steelers, the Texans on Christmas Day and then the Cleveland Browns in the regular-season finale.
Here is the Ravens full 2024 schedule (home games in CAPS):
| Thurs, Sept. 5 | at Kansas City | 8:20 p.m. |
| Sun., Sept. 15 | LAS VEGAS | 1 p.m. |
| Sun., Sept. 22 | at Dallas | 4:25 p.m. |
| Sun., Sept. 29 | BUFFALO | 8:20 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 6 | at Cincinnati | 1 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 13 | WASHINGTON | |
| Mon., Oct. 21 | at Tampa Bay | 8:15 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 27 | at Cleveland | 1 p.m. |
| Sun., Nov. 3 | DENVER | 1 p.m. |
| Thurs., Nov. 7 | CINCINNATI | 8:15 p.m. |
| Sun., Nov. 17 | at Pittsburgh | 1 p.m. |
| Mon., Nov. 25 | at L.A. Chargers | 8:15 p.m. |
| Sun., Dec. 1 | PHILADELPHIA | 4:25 p.m. |
| Sun. Dec. 8 | BYE WEEK | |
| Sun. Dec. 15 | at N.Y. Giants | 1 p.m. |
| Sat. Dec. 21 | PITTSBURGH | 4:30 p.m. |
| Wed., Dec. 25 | at Houston | 4:30 p.m. |
| TBD | CLEVELAND | TBD |
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox