/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59426799/900566694.jpg.0.jpg)
Major League Baseball has begun it’s 2018 campaign, and the NHL and NBA have begun their postseasons, but the NFL season is almost here with the draft just a week away. The Baltimore Ravens will look to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014 after coming one play short of heading to Kansas City for the Wild-Card round a season ago.
Before the draft begins next Thursday, the NFL will reveal the 2018 regular season schedule on Thursday night, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Schedule news! The 2018 NFL Regular Season Schedule will be announced this Thursday, April 19 at 8:00pm ET live on NFL Network with the 2-hour 2018 NFL Schedule Release.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 18, 2018
The preseason schedule was revealed a week ago, and now we will know when each team will play in 2018. The Ravens opponents is certainly no stranger to success, especially recently. Along with the AFC North, Baltimore will play the NFC South with the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming to M&T Bank Stadium, and the Ravens traveling to Carolina and Atlanta to take on the Panthers and Falcons. The Saints, Panthers, and Falcons all made the postseason last year, with Carolina and Atlanta winning the NFC in 2015 and 2016.
The Ravens will also play the AFC West, visiting the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers, and hosting the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders. The Raiders will look to bounce back with new head coach Jon Gruden after a disappointing 2017. The Chiefs and Broncos meanwhile, will start over at quarterback with Patrick Mahomes and Case Keenum, and the Chargers will look to take the next step with a young roster.
To wrap up, the Ravens will once again travel to Tennessee to take on the Titans, and will host the Buffalo Bills at M&T Bank Stadium in a game you have to figure Baltimore is looking forward to after the Bills made the playoffs off the infamous 4th-and-12 Tyler Boyd touchdown that ended the Ravens 2017 season.
It will also be interesting to see the amount of prime-time games the Ravens will have this season. Baltimore had four prime-time games last year, along with the first Monday Night Football game at M&T Bank Stadium since 2012. The Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers will sure to have another big prime-time showdown, but any of the games against the NFC South and maybe the Raiders, could also be a candidate for prime-time games. One things for sure, football is quickly approaching.