The Baltimore Ravens already know their opponents for 2026. What tonight’s official schedule release will finally settle is the order, and the specific placement of some of the most loaded matchups on Baltimore’s slate carries real consequences for what Jesse Minter’s first season as head coach will actually look like.
What is already clear is that Baltimore drew one of the NFL’s more demanding schedules despite finishing second in the AFC North last year. The opponents are confirmed. The only thing missing is the sequence, and several of the matchups waiting in that reveal arrive with significant history attached before a single snap has been played.
A new era, an old set of problems to solve
The 2026 season opens a chapter the Ravens have not seen since 2008: a season without John Harbaugh on the sideline. Minter inherits a team built around Lamar Jackson, a schedule that includes an international game in Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys in Brazil, and a New Year’s Eve road closer at Cincinnati in Week 17.
Minter has already made clear that reversing Baltimore’s home struggles will be central to his first year. That focus comes directly from a 2025 season in which the Ravens went 3-6 at home, the worst home record in franchise history.
The 3 matchups that will define the 2026 Ravens
1. At Buffalo. The road trip to Josh Allen and the Bills is among the most weighted matchups Baltimore faces regardless of when it lands on the calendar. The Ravens lost 41-40 in Buffalo to open the 2025 season after leading by 15 points with under four minutes remaining, and they have now dropped their last three visits to Highmark Stadium, which the Bills are opening for the first time in 2026.
Buffalo also enters under new head coach Joe Brady, who previously served as the team’s offensive coordinator and at one point interviewed for the Ravens’ head coaching vacancy before Baltimore hired Minter instead. Allen remains the quarterback Baltimore has to game-plan around, but the new coaching dynamic gives the matchup an added layer of intrigue heading into the schedule release.
2. Vs. and at Cincinnati. The Ravens play the Bengals twice, with the road leg falling on New Year’s Eve in Week 17. Lamar Jackson carries an 11-3 career record as a starter against Cincinnati, and Baltimore shut out the Bengals 24-0 in Cincinnati last season. This year’s installment adds a pointed subplot in outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson, who left Cincinnati in the offseason to sign with Baltimore and will face his former team twice.
The Bengals, who missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season, moved to rebuild their defense by acquiring Dexter Lawrence via trade, signing defensive end Boye Mafe and safety Bryan Cook, and drafting pass rusher Cashius Howell. It will not be the same Cincinnati team Jackson and the Ravens faced a year ago.
3. Vs. and at Pittsburgh. For the first time in 18 seasons, Ravens-Steelers will not feature Harbaugh or Mike Tomlin on either sideline. Minter faces new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy in a rivalry that has defined the AFC North for years. The 2025 version was difficult for Baltimore from start to finish. The Ravens lost 27-22 at home to Pittsburgh and then dropped a 26-24 decision at Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale, with that closing loss eliminating Baltimore from playoff contention. The two defeats bookended a season the franchise would rather move past entirely.
What else the schedule holds
Beyond those three rivalries, Baltimore’s confirmed 2026 home slate includes the Los Angeles Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans alongside the two division home games. Road assignments include trips to Atlanta, Carolina, Houston and Indianapolis in addition to the full AFC North away schedule.
The Brazil game in Week 3 against Dallas adds an international wrinkle to an already complicated opening stretch, sending the Ravens on the road internationally before the AFC schedule fully takes over. The full order of games, kickoff times and primetime appearances will be confirmed tonight.
#Ravens 2026 schedule release: Leaks, time, opponents
— The Ravens Wire (@TheRavensWire) May 14, 2026