BALTIMORE — After having the NFL’s best regular-season record and coming within a game of playing in the Super Bowl, the Ravens don’t catch any breaks.

Based on opponents’ winning percentage, Baltimore has the second-toughest schedule in the league this year. Its 14 foes posted a combined record of 155-134 last season (.536), and eight made the playoffs. According to projected win totals from Vegas oddsmakers compiled by Sharp Football Analysis, the Ravens’ 2024 schedule is the league’s fourth-hardest.

On top of that, there are some disturbing stretches in the second half of the season, including three games in 14 days and another three in 10.

When the schedule first came out, it appeared as though the NFL had a vendetta against the Ravens or coach John Harbaugh. Plus, whatever happened to this league having so much concern for player safety?

“I think the league is going to continue to add more games because of the media contracts that they have, especially now with streaming,” said John Lopez, 79, a former trainer with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baltimore Colts and Canadian Football League’s Baltimore Stallions as well as co-founder of Towson Sports Medicine. “Everybody wants a piece of the pie, so you’re going to probably have a game every night of the week or every day of the week in the future.”

It’s inevitable, and it’s all about the money while player safety has been put on the back shelf. Unfortunately, the Ravens might not survive this season unless they start out going 6-2 or 5-3 in the first eight games.

Afterward, it’s a gamble. The Ravens play the Denver Broncos in Baltimore on Nov. 3, host the Cincinnati Bengals four days later and then travel to Pittsburgh on Nov. 17.

Later in December, they travel to New York for a game with the Giants on Dec. 15 before hosting the Steelers six days later and then flying into Houston for an afternoon game on Christmas Day, the Ravens’ second straight on the holiday that has traditionally been dominated by the NBA. Until now.

“If it’s something that’s not good for the players, why aren’t the players speaking up?” Lopez asked. “None of the stars within the league have spoken up about it. I don’t see the NFLPA and their union head talking about it, so it’s big, big money and they’re just going to keep adding more games.

“I am glad I don’t have to handle the demands of trying to get players ready to play for the next game.”

You could see this coming back in 1961 when the NFL switched to a 14-game schedule and then went to 16 games in 1978. In March 2021, the NFL adopted a 17-game schedule after an agreement with the NFLPA.

The format will eventually go to 18 games and then 20. But as the number of games grows, so will the injuries. The Ravens can’t afford to lose star quarterback Lamar Jackson at any point, but an injury during those short weeks would be devastating.

Plus, today’s players are bigger, stronger and faster than those in the 1970s or 1980s, and there are more Sunday, Monday and Thursday night games.

“I went through it one year with the old Canadian Football League franchise in Baltimore,” Lopez said. “We played three games in eight days, and I can tell you this, we basically couldn’t practice. It was at best a walk-through. They get out, warm up, jog a little bit, stretch a little bit. Some guys couldn’t even take a jog because they were so beat up. And when you throw travel in on top of that, the question becomes how can you keep going?”

“Recovery” has become the new catchphrase in the NFL. Like every other team, the Ravens have their strengths and weaknesses. They have ample depth at running back and in the secondary, but injuries at outside linebacker or on the offensive line would cause serious problems.

The Ravens understand the situation, but they can’t complain, not in the public relations-conscious NFL. If you step out a line, a fine will be coming soon. Greedy owners don’t want to talk about multiple games being played in a short window of time because that would affect their cash flow.

But if player performance and production starts to slip, will that change the direction of where this league appears to be headed?

“The Ravens’ success during this stretch will depend on how well they can manage these challenges and maintain their health and performance through the postseason,” said Austin Dews, 26, a Ravens fan, Parkville resident and support specialist for the Veterans Administration.

It’s all starting to get out of control as the NFL looks to play more games overseas, which will require more travel time. Until someone speaks up, it’s about money first and player safety is secondary.

“The idea of having guys that are 300-plus pounds out there pounding the hell out of each other and playing that many games over a short period of days, I don’t know how you recover,” Lopez said. “When you throw all the travel in on top of it and then you look at the Ravens’ schedule, you go, ‘Holy crap, it’s just crazy.’

“It’s just mind-boggling to see a sport push itself more and more. It’s absolute insanity right now.”

©2024 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.