The Ravens' 2024 schedule has arrived.

Here are my top takeaways:

Get ready for primetime.

The Ravens have five primetime games, plus a Christmas Day game and a Saturday game. So that's seven nationally-televised games.

In addition to kicking off the NFL regular season against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Ravens play under the lights at M&T Bank Stadium against the Bills and Bengals, and on the road in Tampa Bay and versus the Los Angeles Chargers. Baltimore will be in Houston for Christmas and against the Steelers on Saturday in Week 16. Baltimore only has seven 1 p.m. kickoffs.

It comes as no surprise considering the Ravens are one of the league's premier teams and are led by electrifying two-time MVP Lamar Jackson. Simply put, Jackson is one of the most fun players in the NFL to watch.

More primetime games are fun, but it also means an unusual lineup. The Ravens have seven Sundays off as of now and play three games in 10 days in December against the Giants, Steelers, and Texans. That's a tough final stretch.

Christmas … again!

Speaking of the primetime games, having a Christmas Day game for a second straight year is unusual. Having it on a Wednesday makes it even rarer.

This will be the fourth time in Ravens history that they've played on Christmas. Only two teams, the Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys, will have played more Christmas games.

Thursday games are already tough on players' bodies with a short recovery turnaround. This Wednesday game isn't tougher since the league gave the Ravens a Saturday game (vs. Steelers) the week before, so it still leaves four days between just like a typical Sunday-Thursday turnaround. But it means back-to-back weeks of short rest and, as stated above, three games in 10 days.

The Ravens' opponent, the Texans, will have the same disadvantage. So will the rival Chiefs and Steelers, who play in the other Christmas game.

Some fans may like adding even more sizzle to the holiday. Others, specifically those who don't subscribe to Netflix, won't like this.

What makes you feel better about it is that the Ravens won in San Francisco on Christmas last year, making for a jolly holiday. The Ravens and fans will hope for the same result against a challenging foe that Baltimore defeated in last year's divisional playoffs.

P.S. – It's surprising that the HarBowl between the Ravens and Chargers isn't on Thanksgiving or Christmas. That seemed to be a slam dunk. Instead, one Harbaugh brother will have bragging rights at the Thanksgiving table three days after they play. John is 2-0, including Super Bowl XLVII.

The AFC North won't be settled for a while.

The Ravens don't play their first AFC North game until Week 5 (in Cincinnati) and only have one in the first seven weeks.

This is a dramatic departure from last season, when Baltimore had three divisional games (all on the road) in the first five weeks. That series of games put the Ravens in the driver's seat of the AFC North.

This year, there won't be a clear leader in the division until late in the season. Perhaps that's just the way the NFL likes it, as the best division in football is expected to be even more tightly contested this year.

The Ravens finish with five divisional games over their final 10, including a stretch from Weeks 8-11 when they play each of their AFC North foes.

Jump out in front or rebound in the second quarter.

It's been known for months that the Ravens have the second-most-difficult schedule in the league based on their opponents' win percentage from last season.

We already knew the Ravens would have a great test with an AFC Championship rematch against the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs to kick off the season. Beyond that, the Ravens' first five games will set the tone for the season. Per Sharp Football's Warren Sharp, the Ravens have the most difficult schedule in the first five weeks of any team in the league.

The Chiefs, Raiders, Cowboys, Bills, and Bengals were a combined 51-34 last year and all (except the Raiders) are expected to contend for a conference title in 2024. If the Ravens come out of the gates hot, they can take pole position in the AFC. If they don't, they'll need a strong rebound in quarter two.

There aren't any "soft" spots in the Ravens' schedule, but the lightest is from Weeks 6-9 when the Ravens play the Commanders, Buccaneers, Browns, and Broncos, who had a combined record of 32-36 last season. It's essentially the second quarter of the schedule if broken into four chunks.

It says something about the difficulty of the Ravens' schedule that two of those teams, the Bucs and Browns, were in last year's playoffs.

Late bye will test endurance but help late.

If you thought last year's Week 13 bye was late, it's in Week 14 this year. It's the last possible week to have the bye and the latest in Ravens history since 2000. That year turned out well with a Lombardi Trophy.

A stretch of 13 straight games to open the season is a long haul that will test Ravens players' endurance and physical recovery. Strength & Conditioning Coordinator Scott Elliott and Director of Sports Nutrition Sarah Snyder will be key figures.

However, the Ravens embraced last year's late bye because it got them a little fresher for the stretch run and playoffs and I expect them to do the same this year.

The Week 14 bye breaks up a stretch of three Ravens games in four contests that will be played on short rest (Eagles, Steelers, Texans). The NFL put six teams on bye in Week 14, tied for the most of any week, and has no teams on a bye in Week 13.

Another Week 13 bye would have been ideal. Then the Ravens could have had extra time to recover from a short week because of "Monday Night Football" and a long flight back from Los Angeles. But the schedule never gives you the best-case-scenario.

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