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Baltimore Ravens boast bizarre, fun, meaningless preseason stat

By Sayre Bedinger

Jul 27, 2023; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh speaks to the media after training camp practice at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Brent Skeen-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 27, 2023; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh speaks to the media after training camp practice at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Brent Skeen-USA TODAY Sports /
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They say preseason games don’t matter, but for the Baltimore Ravens, they may carry a different meaning (and level of importance) entirely. The Ravens are just like any other NFL team. They are utilizing the preseason to find ways to get better, get opportunities for young players, evaluate the roster, and see which guys might be contributing to their 53-man roster come September.

But the Baltimore Ravens also might have a unique incentive to try and win preseason games. Even though the results of the games don’t matter, there’s certainly nothing wrong with winning the preseason games, right? The Ravens have won an astounding 23 straight preseason games, a pretty incredible number when you think about how many years the streak spans.

They haven’t lost a preseason contest since the 2015 season.

Baltimore Ravens putting incredible preseason streak on the line in 2023

The Ravens will open their preseason on Saturday against the reigning NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles. The question of “can they win” is certainly not at the forefront for many people. Most are more interested in whether or not the Baltimore Ravens are going to be able to get significant contributions this season from their new-look wide receiver group, featuring a trio of former first-round picks in Odell Beckham Jr., Zay Flowers, and Rashod Bateman.

Everyone in Baltimore is undoubtedly excited to see this team moving forward with Lamar Jackson no longer in a contract dispute but as the undisputed leader of the team with a loaded bank account.

Nobody really cares what’s going to happen in the preseason, except kind of. Bettors are certainly excited about the Ravens’ preseason given the fact that this team is 20-3 against the spread over the course of these last 23 games. Baltimore’s preseason winning streak has now become a tradition to uphold more than anything, and now that it’s getting longer, it’s getting more attention.

Players from other teams are going to start hearing about it and wanting to be the ones to end it. And Ravens players fighting for roster spots are not going to want to be the ones to spoil it.

If nothing else, this current streak the Ravens are on should make for some really interesting battles from players that are fighting for roster spots or players fighting for positioning on the depth chart. Having some form of additional incentive — not just to play well but to win the game — could certainly make Baltimore Ravens preseason games more intense than just about any other team this year.

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