Predicting the 2023 Baltimore Ravens Record game-by-game

A little disclaimer to start off: With Greg Roman running the offense, the Ravens were stuck in no man’s land as a great regular season team that would always struggle to make the jump offensively come playoffs. I do think this team has more holes (especially defensively) than previous seasons and due to that we have a wider range of potential outcomes this year. I would argue that this is actually A GOOD THING. The Ravens are a team with an immense ceiling, and if they can reach it this year at the right time, I truly believe they can beat anybody in the league. Here are the main things I’m concerned about with this roster: 1. DB depth 2. Can we get an actual pass rush going? Oweh needs to step up BIG TIME. 3. Offensive and defensive lines feel thinner than in previous seasons 4. What will the new offense look like under Monken 5. Can Lamar Jackson complete passes to other players besides Mark Andrews? He has the talent in his other receivers now, it’s time to make another jump as a passer.

Week 1: Home versus Houston Texans (1-0)

I expect this to be a fairly dominant win start to finish. Home opener and CJ Stroud making his first NFL start in a hostile environment does not bode well for Houston. I could see Lamar Jackson and the offense having some trouble getting the offense off the ground with it being the first real game under a new coordinator, but even if this happens, the Ravens will still find a way to win a low scoring game. I think offensively they will come out clicking though, and that leads to a convincing W. Score prediction: Ravens 27, Houston 13

Week 2: Away versus Cincinnati Bengals (1-1)

The Ravens are a better team than the Bengals. There. I said it. They were one troll Tyler Huntley fumble away from beating the Bengals in a road playoff game last year. That being said, the Ravens won’t win this game, and let me tell you why. The DB group is very thin, and it is unknown if Marlon Humphrey will be at full strength/even able to play by the time this game comes around in week 2. That thin DB room likely won’t hurt in game 1 against HOU but it will be a killer against Burrow and the Bengals. The Ravens main hope with their personnel will be to get pressure, and not only can Burrow handle it, but getting pressure on the QB is literally the other major possible defensive issue with these Ravens heading into the season. Burrow will pick apart Ronald Darby and Rock Ya-Sin all game, and it will be a shootout that the Bengals come out on top for.

Score prediction: Bengals 34, Ravens 30

Week 3: Home versus Indianapolis Colts (2-1)

I think in terms of matchup, this one comes across as very similar to the week one draw against HOU. Rookie QB (AR15) coming into a hostile environment generally doesn’t bode well when playing against Baltimore. The Ravens fluster Richardson and the defense takes over the game to rebound after getting Burrow’d. I think the Ravens will have a lot of success with the ground and pound this game, and I’ll even predict the Ravens first defensive TD of the year.

Score prediction: Ravens 23, Colts 10

Week 4: Road versus Cleveland Browns (3-1) This is a hard game to predict. I haven’t seen enough from the Browns version of Deshaun Watson yet to give this game to Cleveland. The Ravens find a way to win this one with a bend-don’t-break defense and a nice offensive showcase where Lamar Jackson throws for 2 TDs and runs for 2 more. Score prediction: Ravens 28, Browns 20

Week 5: Road versus Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) I got a Kenny Pickett breakout year on the books (PIT will make the playoffs, watch), and I think he makes a major statement in this game at home by methodically picking apart the Ravens secondary in the first half to take a major 17-0 lead going into halftime. The Ravens offense will find a way to make it a game again in the second half, but will fall short. Score prediction: Steelers 27, Ravens 17

Week 6: Home versus Tennessee Titans (4-2) Both teams will lean heavily on the run this game and Baltimore wins the battle in the trenches. Gus Edwards scores 2 short TDs and the Ravens get 3 long FGs from Justin Tucker while the secondary has their best game of the year so far. Score prediction: Ravens 23, Titans 17

Week 7: Home versus Detroit Lions (5-2) The Lions look spooky this year and I think this ultimately ends up being a great game, but I see Lamar Jackson really carving up the Lions in the middle of the field. We get a long Zay Flowers TD and Mark Andrews has a field day dominating up the middle. Lamar’s best game of the season so far and the Ravens drop over 30 points at home to win. Score prediction: Ravens 35, Lions 24

Week 8: Away versus Arizona Cardinals (6-2) Not too much to say here. Arizona will likely be one of the worst teams in the league this year without Kyler Murray and may even be in the hunt for the tank for Caleb Williams sweepstakes. The Ravens defense stifles whatever “offense” the Cardinals have. The Cards defense actually holds the Ravens in check fairly well, but it doesn’t matter. Score prediction: Ravens 17, Cardinals 6

Week 9: Home versus Seattle Seahawks (6-3) This Seahawks team was super competitive last year, and I think they improved this offseason, especially on the offensive side of the ball by drafting Njigba and Charbonnet as skilled position players. I genuinely believe Geno Smith last year was not a fluke and that Seattle can make some noise this year (and watch out for them in the playoffs too). Seattle’s defense will hold strong against the Ravens and Seattle’s offense wins in the trenches while also hitting us with an efficient aerial attack to hand the Ravens their first home loss of the year.

Score prediction: Seahawks 27 Ravens 17

Week 10: Home versus Cleveland Browns (7-3) After the Seattle loss, I think the Ravens offense gets back in sync in a big way in this game to torch the Browns defense. I’m feeling shootout vibes in this one, and a big game from Odell and Mark Andrews. The Browns make it close in the second half following a forced fumble by Myles Garrett that leads to a scoop and score, but it’s not enough as the Ravens close it out to win the season series 2-0. Score prediction: Ravens 34, Browns 27

Week 11: Home versus Cincinnati Bengals (8-3) Mike Macdonald and the Ravens defense make the proper adjustments in game 2 and are able to mask secondary deficiencies by getting more schemed pressure on Burrow. Humphrey has his best game of the season shadowing Jamarr Chase and Kyle Hamilton is a force to be reckoned with, breaking up several pass plays up the middle and blowing up a few runs up the middle while playing in the box as well. We get a big Dobbins game where he gets the rock for 15 carries and adds 5 more receptions. This ends up being a great game on a short week for Thursday night football. Score prediction: Ravens 21, Bengals 17

Week 12: Away versus Los Angeles Chargers (9-3) Now you are probably starting to think I’m just a major homer who won’t predict a Ravens loss in these games that seem losable. But nah, I just don’t like the Chargers that much and think they are overrated as a “dangerous” team. Sure, they’ll find ways to score and put points on the board but good teams find ways to win games and other teams find ways to lose games. I put the Chargers in the “other teams” category and the Ravens in the good teams category. Lamar hits a juke this game while on a 50+ yard TD run so crazy that it’s on SC Top 10 plays. Justin Tucker hits a game winning FG from 37 yards as time expires. Ice in his veins. Score predictions: Ravens 27, Chargers 24

Week 13: Bye Week The Ravens utilize the bye week as a way to get their defense in tune, which has been susceptible, especially against the pass, for much of the season against good teams. Week 14: Home versus Los Angeles Rams (10-3) The Ravens come out of the bye playing suffocating defense against a further declining Matthew Stafford and hold 'em to 6 points. Ravens fans start to think that they can really make this secondary work. The offense looks a bit discombobulated as Monken is testing some new things in the playbook that he thinks could play in the postseason. Score prediction: Ravens 16, Rams 6

Week 15: Away versus Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4) I see the Jags as a competitive team this year who find a way to build on last year’s playoff win. Trevor Lawrence quickly shuts down Ravens fans who were beginning to hope this secondary might hold up and the offense stays flat after a poor showing against the Rams. The Ravens pass rush is also non-existent and it’s just an overall ugly showing for our first loss in a while. Score prediction: Jaguars 31, Ravens 13

Week 16: Away versus San Francisco 49ers (10-5) This is going to be a sick Monday night game on Christmas day that lives up to the hype. I think both offenses will be able to move the ball against one another, but it won’t be high scoring because each team will have super long drives that drain the clock. It will come down to which team will be able to play red zone defense and to me the 49ers inspire more confidence in that regard. Score prediction: 49ers 24, Ravens 20

Week 17: Home versus Miami Dolphins (11-5) I won’t lie to the readers, I ALMOST picked Miami to win this one for the Ravens third loss in a row. But I think that blown game from last year leaves such a bad taste in the Ravens’ mouths that they find a way to pull it out this time around. I see another big game from Lamar and the offense really showing out in this one. The secondary doesn’t handle Tyreek and Waddle well, but the Ravens defense forces a couple critical turnovers, one on a sack fumble from Clowney and one pick from Kyle Hamilton, that really change the complexion of the game. Score prediction: Ravens 34, Dolphins 27

Week 18: Home versus Pittsburgh Steelers (12-5) My prediction is both the Bengals and Ravens come into this game 11-5, having split the season head-to-head series. Both teams win and there’s some other tiebreaker that decides the winner of the AFC North. The Ravens defense adjusts to Pickett dominating the first time around and the Ravens pull out a low-scoring slugfest where you would have liked to have seen a better performance from the offense going into the playoffs. The Steelers are a playoff team too though, so it was a good tune-up game heading into the postseason. Score prediction: Ravens 16, Steelers 13

All in all, I think the Ravens have a very successful regular season that earns them a share of the AFC North title. I think Lamar has his best season since his MVP year and is able to spread the ball out better to his other offensive skill players besides Mark Andrews. Andrews still has a strong year of course! The Ravens don’t really solve their most pressing issues on the defensive side of the ball heading into the playoffs, and that may end up causing their ultimate downfall. Might need to explore some moves at the trade deadline to try and shore up the pass rush and the CB position. That could really help the defense move up a level. I do believe the offense will look different with more of a focus on playing up-tempo with a better aerial attack under Monken, but truly I do not know how it will hold up come postseason. I think there’s a confidence issue there too. Lamar and co. have never once looked good in a playoff game, so it might be that once they get over that hump of playing well in a high stakes game, they can play more loose and reach that championship ceiling many Ravens fans have thought we’ve had for a few years now.