Next Sunday, the Ravens play their home-opener against the Buffalo Bills.
If Baltimore plays in the regular season like they did in the preseason — an undefeated record — they’re going to be stiff competition for their opponents. They’ve proven they can win in a variety of ways — including a sizeable win over the Lions or winning a down-to-the-wire contest against Colts.
How well, or poorly, could the Ravens fair in 2016? The scenarios play out as follows:
Ceiling: 12-4
Baltimore completely forgets that 2015 ever existed.
All of their key starters stay healthy and John Harbaugh puts them in the best position to win in each game. Joe Flacco backs up his claim that he is elite as he and Steve Smith, Sr. light up scoreboards on a regular basis.
The Ravens will establish a dominant run game regardless of who ends up running the rock. Rookie Ronnie Stanley proves to be a stud and helps both the run and pass game improve by neutralizing all opposing defenders.
Terrell Suggs makes the Ravens defense a force to be reckoned with and makes opposing offensive coordinators wary facing up against T-Sizzle. Eric Weddle turns the Ravens secondary into a no-fly-zone.
The Ravens win every game decided by eight points or less.
Floor: 5-11
There is no way Baltimore does any worse than they did last season.
Their roster turned into a dark abyss near the end of 2015 and they still found a way to win five games and beat the Steelers twice.
For this to happen again, Joe Flacco, Steve Smith, Sr., and Terrell Suggs all go down in Week 1 against Buffalo and they never return during the 2016 season. Ronnie Stanley never returns to preseason form and ends up letting defenders go right by him, making the Ravens run game ineffective.
The Ravens then find a way to lose to the Browns – maybe twice – during the course of the season. Baltimore’s secondary doesn’t make any improvements upon last season and Baltimore looks like a team who can’t stop a Pop Warner offense.
The Ravens lose every game decided by eight points or less and can barely keep games competitive.
Reality Check: Both of those scenarios seem a little extreme.
Realistically, the Ravens will finish somewhere between their ceiling and floor. Not everything should go right, or wrong, for Baltimore in 2016. After all, in the NFL, any team can win on any Sunday.
After seeing how the Ravens played this preseason, they appear to be much closer to their ceiling than their floor. Remember, John Harbaugh has never missed the playoffs two seasons in a row as the Ravens head coach.
Final Record Prediction: 10-6
Baltimore will qualify for the playoffs as a wild card team and win at least one playoff game.
