The Ravens' schedule for next season looks even more intriguing than it did just a few weeks ago.
As a reminder, here are the Ravens' 2020 opponents, with the dates and times to be released in April.
HOME: Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants
AWAY: Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins
Here are five Ravens home games that have gained appeal since the regular season ended.
Chiefs at Ravens
This game was already highly anticipated. But after winning their first Super Bowl in 50 years, the Chiefs will visit Baltimore for the first time since 2015. The Chiefs are the only team that Lamar Jackson has lost to twice during his young career. Both of those defeats were in Kansas City, but Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes will finally make his first visit to Baltimore next season.
Even in defeat, Jackson has made a host of electrifying plays against the Chiefs.
The Chiefs and Ravens will enter 2020 with Super Bowl expectations and much of the pregame talk will center around Jackson and Mahomes. They are the league's two most recent MVP winners, and according to Las Vegas oddsmakers, the leading candidates to win MVP in 2020.
Titans at Ravens
Tennessee delivered one of the cruelest endings to a Ravens season in franchise history. Losing to the Titans in the divisional round, after going 14-2 during the regular season, felt like a Mike Tyson knockout punch. The Ravens didn't see it coming and it still hurts.
Now a rematch against the Titans in 2020 will have added pizzazz. Tennessee has some important offseason personnel questions to solve, starting with running back Derrick Henry and quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who are both set to become free agents.
However, no matter who's on the field for the Titans next season, the Ravens will want revenge.
Browns at Ravens
Cleveland handed the Ravens their only regular season home loss in 2019, putting up 40 points on Baltimore in Week 4. At that time, few people thought Freddie Kitchens would only last one season as the Browns' head coach.
Another regime has begun in Cleveland with Andrew Berry as the new GM and Kevin Stefanski as head coach. They have already begun the process of bringing a new culture to the Browns, who haven't made the playoffs since 2002.
Many picked the Browns to win the AFC North in 2019 and they have plenty of young talent led by wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, quarterback Baker Mayfield, running back Nick Chubb and defensive end Myles Garrett. At the Super Bowl, commissioner Roger Goodell told Cleveland.com that he plans to meet with Garrett within 60 days regarding his indefinite suspension and possible reinstatement after his altercation with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
There's a lot going on with the Browns, but if Stefanski gets everyone pulling in the right direction, Cleveland could be a threat to the Ravens in the AFC North.
Cowboys at Ravens
Dallas has a new coach as well, with Mike McCarthy taking over for Jason Garrett. It's a big change, considering Garrett was the Cowboys head coach for nine seasons. McCarthy has received some recent endorsements from franchise legends, including Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith.
"I think change sometimes is the best thing, especially when you've been in the same rut for eight or nine years, the rut of inconsistency – one year you're up, one year you're down…We just have to get back to that level of excellence," Smith said via Jon Machota of The Athletic.
Dallas hasn't played in Baltimore since 2012, so next year's visit seems overdue.
Giants at Ravens
New York also hired a new head coach after the season, replacing Pat Shurmur with Joe Judge, who was the Patriots special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach. The 38-year-old Judge may have been the most surprising hire of the offseason, considering he has never been a head coach at any level. Now he's coaching in the league's biggest media market.
Eli Manning also retired after the season, paving the way for Daniel Jones to continuing growing as the Giants' new franchise quarterback. The Ravens will get their first look at Jones and Saquan Barkley, one of the league's most electrifying running backs. Improving their run defense is one of the Ravens' top offseason priorities, and that aspect of their defense will be tested in 2020. The Ravens are scheduled to face eight backs who are coming off 1,000-yard seasons – Henry, Chubb, Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott (Cowboys), Leonard Fournette (Jaguars), Joe Mixon (Bengals), Marlon Mack (Colts) and Carlos Hyde (Texans).
