If you’re going to have a tough part of your schedule, you might as well get it taken care of early. That’s true for the Baltimore Ravens and perhaps their Maryland online sports betting backers.
When the full, official 2024 NFL schedule release happened Wednesday night, it was certainly a front-loaded one for the Ravens. Baltimore lost in the AFC Championship Game last season and sure enough, the team’s first game of the 2024 season will be against the team who ended their season in January. On Sept. 5, the Ravens will travel to at Arrowhead Stadium and face the two-time Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs.
It might come as a surprise that the Chiefs game isn’t part of the toughest three-game stretch the Ravens will face this fall. BetMaryland.com used a point system to identify the hardest three-game stretch which could affect the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl odds:
Hardest Stretch of Baltimore Ravens’ 2024 Regular Season
Week | Opponent | Points |
3 | at Dallas Cowboys | 4 |
4 | vs. Buffalo Bills | 4 |
5 | at Cincinnati Bengals | 5 |
During the 2024-25 NFL regular season, we deem Weeks 3-5 to be the hardest challenge for the Ravens. Here is how we determined it: BetMaryland.com devised a system, assigning point values to each regular-season game thusly:
- 1 point – Divisional opponent
- 1 point – Road game
- 1 point – Prime-time game (TNF, SNF, MNF)
- 2 points – Short week
- 2 points – Team #11-20 on ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings
- 3 points – Team #1-10 on ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings
Oddsmakers Rave About Baltimore’s Chances
Like the Chiefs, the Cowboys, Bills and Bengals are all among the top Super Bowl contenders for next season. At Caesars Maryland Sportsbook, the Bengals are the co-fourth choice at +1300. The Bills are right behind them at +1400 and the Cowboys are ninth on the futures board at +1800.
The Ravens, by the way, are the third choice at +900, behind only the Chiefs at +550 and the San Francisco 49ers at +575.
Baltimore’s schedule throughout the season will be tough. The combined winning percentage of their 2024 regular season opponents is .536. Only the Cleveland Browns, the Ravens’ rival in the AFC North, have a tougher schedule.
Even with the gauntlet the team faces, FanDuel Maryland Sportsbook has set the Ravens’ total wins for the season at 11.5. Odds for the over are +132, while the under is set at -162.
Fanatics Maryland Sportsbook has the Ravens as the favorite to win the AFC North yet again. Their odds are +120, with the Bengals available at +175. That means the Week 5 game in Cincinnati could go a long way to deciding who gets the division title and is assured of at least one home playoff game in January. Check out our Baltimore Ravens playoff chances page.
Can Jackson Repeat If Ravens Repeat?
Last season, Baltimore went 13-4 and earned home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. A major reason for that was the play of quarterback Lamar Jackson, who won his second Associated Press MVP award. If the Ravens are to repeat as AFC North champs, they’ll likely need another MVP-like performance from their superstar quarterback.
At BetMGM Maryland Sportsbook, Jackson is the fifth choice on the 2024 AP MVP futures board at +1200. Ahead of him are Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes (+600), Buffalo QB Josh Allen (+900), Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow (+900) and Houston signal caller CJ Stroud (+1000).
USA Today photo by Trevor Ruszkowski
