Three of Ravens' next five games at M&T Bank Stadium

Football players and coaches don't like to look ahead during the middle of a season

Fans don't share that mentality. Fans want to look at the schedule and see where are the best chances a team has to win games in order to best position themselves in the ever-important playoff race.

Doing so, it appears the Ravens have an upcoming five-game stretch that could wind up favorable, especially with the team coming off of a much-needed bye week.

We'll start with this week against the Browns. The Browns are improved from Week 2's game, which Baltimore won 14-6. The game is at Cleveland, too, which could prove to be difficult. But the Browns aren't a team instilling fear in their opponents.

The run game is non-existent and Jason Campbell isn't a quarterback that's going to light the stat sheet up against a Ravens pass rush that's been formidable against everyone. The Ravens have a great at chance at going into Cleveland and getting yet another season sweep over the Browns.

The following week is a home game against Cincinnati, the hottest team in the AFC North. The Bengals are scoring points all over the place and have found another go-to receiver in Marvin Jones. But the game's at M&T Bank Stadium, which plays into the Ravens' favor.

The following week finds the Ravens traveling to Chicago to take on an up-and-down Bears team. The Bears have won games by creating turnovers. If they're unable to do so, they've found themselves in close games, and sometimes on the losing side of those. It's a game the Ravens certainly can win.

After that, the Ravens will have back-to-back home games against the Jets and Steelers. The Jets are a classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kind of team. One week they look like a division contender, the next they look like a laughing stock. Cincinnati made them look hapless this past Sunday. With the Jets coming to Baltimore, the Ravens should have an added advantage.

The Steelers bookend this five-game stretch, and it won't matter that the game's at home. The Steelers and Ravens play classic games without location being a factor. But the Ravens will want revenge after having plenty of opportunities against Pittsburgh at Heinz Field.

For as problematic as the Ravens have been early, four games came on the road with two of them being against Denver and Green Bay.

That's not to say that Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, the New York Jets and Pittsburgh are fielding teams Baltimore can beat without worry. But the matchups do seem to be a little more favorable.

The Ravens will definitely have a chance to reverse their early-season misfortune over these next five weeks.