Baltimore Ravens: Brutal schedule makes it tough to win AFC North

The Baltimore Ravens have a difficult schedule these next five weeks.

The AFC North is easily the toughest division in the AFC and second toughest in the entire league after the NFC West. The Baltimore Ravens have figured that out this season, as they sit second in their division despite losing just one game to this point.

Currently, the Steelers are No. 1 in the AFC North and look indestructible after their win over the Titans this past week, moving them to 6-0. They are the only undefeated team remaining in the NFL for the 2020 season.

The Ravens have to play nearly perfect down the stretch and hope that Pittsburgh slips up somewhere down the line, but it won’t be easy for Baltimore these next few weeks. Here’s who the Ravens play in their next five games:

• Steelers
• at Colts
• at Patriots
• Titans
• at Steelers (TNF)

That is not an easy stretch of games, even for a team that went 14-2 last year and secured the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Baltimore will face the Steelers twice during this time and those games are likely going to determine who wins the division. The Ravens get to host the first match-up and will look to hand Pittsburgh its first loss of the season.

It’ll be really important for Baltimore to do just that because the Steelers have pretty easy sledding from here on out minus their two games against the Ravens. Here’s Pittsburgh’s schedule over the next five weeks:

• at Ravens
• at Cowboys
• Bengals
• at Jaguars
• Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens won’t have an easy road to a second straight division crown.

After the Ravens host the Steelers, they travel to Indianapolis and New England and say what you want about those two teams this year, but those aren’t surefire wins. Not only that, but it’s tough to win in Foxboro even if the Patriots have a new look this year.

Baltimore finishes off that stretch with a home game against the Titans and then a rematch against their divisional foes, only this time in Pittsburgh. If Baltimore can get out of that stretch going 3-2, they should be in good shape to win the division over Pittsburgh.

Many people assumed the AFC would go through either Baltimore or Kansas City this year and while the Ravens are still very good, their division and tough upcoming schedule are going to make it tough for them to repeat as the AFC team with the best record.