Baltimore Ravens play Kansas City Chiefs at the right time in 2021

By Chris Schisler

The Ravens host the Chiefs early in the season for the second year in a row. Last time it was on ESPN on a Monday, this time it’s on Sunday Night Football on NBC. The next battle comes in Week 2. This is the perfect time to play the Chiefs.

The Baltimore Ravens have a thing about the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs have knocked the purple and black down a peg in three meetings in a row. The last contest with the Chiefs was a disaster in M&T Bank Stadium on Monday Night Football. The Chiefs get in the head of the Baltimore Ravens as a team.

The first reason this is the perfect timing of this game is that it doesn’t give John Harbaugh and company any time to make this more than it is. If it was the first game of the season, the Ravens would almost assuredly overthink it. Let’s face it, that’s what they tend to do against the Chiefs.

The Ravens have months to get ready for the regular season. Their first battle is with the Las Vegas Raiders. While it is perfectly plausible that preparing for the Chiefs game can start this offseason, it can’t takeover the rest of the offseason. The Ravens are getting ready for Monday Night Football against the Raiders. One game at a time applies in May as well as during the season.

The second reason this is such a good time in the schedule to see the Chiefs is that they get to surprise Kansas City. The Ravens can save bows in their quiver for Andy Reid’s crimson clad roster. It’s just the second week of the season.

The Ravens want to show growth offensively. The Ravens should be able to run the ball well against the Las Vegas Raiders, while teasing what’s to come with their new look passing game. Having the Chiefs this quickly allows Lamar Jackson to send a statement to the NFL. If you’re going to send a statement, the Chiefs are the team to do it against.

No disrespect to the Raiders, but the Ravens built their new look offense to be able to win games against teams like the Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills and even the Cleveland Browns. Can the Ravens showcase their new look offense against the Raiders? Yes. Will the Ravens have to? Probably not.

Andy Reid knows John Harbaugh more than most coaches in the NFL. Reid used to be Harbaugh’s boss. What are the traits that are so obviously Harbaugh? How about being stubborn, predictable and, loyal to a fault.

Reid may not expect his former protege to push Greg Roman into some change as the offensive coordinator. Heck, a lot of us may be wondering about this at the moment. If the Ravens push towards being a new look offense, they could shock the Chiefs. The Chiefs keep beating the Ravens the same way. The best way to beat the Chiefs is by using a game plan that they are not ready for.

Another good thing about the Chiefs being the Ravens’ second opponent is that it gets one of the toughest games out of the way. If the Ravens lose a game to the Chiefs in the second week of the season it doesn’t have to define their season. If they lose by one point in a classic, it could even serve as a rallying cry heading into the postseason.

In the back half of the new 17 game slate, the Ravens play the Browns twice in three weeks. The Ravens play the Pittsburgh Steelers twice as well, including the regular season finale. Other opponents in the back portion of the season include the Green Bay Packers. and the Los Angeles Rams.

Imagine if the NFL swapped the Ravens Week 16 game against the Cincinnati Bengals with the Week 2 game against the Chiefs. That would be a murderer’s row to finish the regular season. Having one of the big heavy weight fights early is a good thing. That is especially true with the Chiefs, a team who has had the Ravens number.

The Bottom Line

Do we overthink the NFL schedule release? Yes. At the end of the day, the Ravens have to play when and where the NFL tells them to and we never know how things will shape up. That being said, the Ravens have as ideal scheduling as they can get in terms of playing the Chiefs. They get a chance to surprise their Jackson era rival, they don’t get a whole season to build it up and get in their own head, and it gets a big game out of the way.