Head Coach John Harbaugh said Sunday's 37-33 loss at the tail end of the trip to Oakland isn't the deciding factor of whether they will have another extended stay out West between their Week 6 and 7 games, but the Ravens will re-open the discussion.
Baltimore is currently slated to fly to San Francisco on Friday, Oct. 16, play the 49ers that Sunday, then immediately fly to Phoenix, where they will practice for the week before their Monday Night Football matchup against the Cardinals on Oct. 26.
In total, that would be an 11-day road trip – a long time to spend away from home.
Harbaugh said the Ravens will make a decision in the next couple of days.
"We'll just try to do what's best," Harbaugh said Monday.
"If we stay, it'll be because we and the players feel like it would be the best thing. And if we don't, it would be because we'd rather get back here and be in our home confines. We'll decide which is best, especially in a long week. If it was a short week, it would be a no-brainer to stay out there. When it is a long week, it becomes a little bit of a decision."
Harbaugh said more thought is being given to the decision "not given the results of the game so much, as [much as] how it impacts us the next time."
Harbaugh was happy with the work his team got in while practicing and staying in San Jose last week. At the end of the week, Harbaugh said the players spent a lot of time together talking football and complimented accommodating San Jose State.
He was asked on Friday whether he thought it was the right move to stay out West instead of flying back after the game in Denver, then going all the way back across the country and sleep-altering time zones to California.
"The wisdom is in the results, as we all know," Harbaugh said before Sunday's loss. "If we go out there and take care of business, then it was a good move."
On Monday, Harbaugh again reiterated how happy he was with his players and the organization's behind-the-scenes work while they were away from home in new surroundings.
"I told the team during the week that when you have a chance to be here all together for the entire week, you see how much goes into a National Football League game, how much effort [it takes] from the players, from the coaches," Harbaugh said.
"I know the players saw the coaches working Monday and Tuesday putting the game plan together. Coaches saw the players coming over and watching tape. So, our players were committed. Our guys were in the hotel working on football all week. I would have loved to reap the benefits of that and been able to stand up here and talk about what a plus that was in winning two football games. But, we're not able to do that, because we didn't get the job done, but from the effort – the work effort – we can stand on that foundation going forward."
