The Ravens are going to lose a game or two they are supposed to win.That’s the NFL. That’s especially the NFL at a time when Ravens are carrying the highest projected win total from the sportsbook and are the betting favorite in 14 games and have to handle some heavy immediate expectations with a rookie head coach and offensive coordinator. This is a franchise that has found ways to lose games at home with far too much regularity at the end of John Harbaugh’s distinguished tenure and there is going to be more transition and lack of cohesion that seen around Owings Mills for quite some time. And while this upcoming schedule came together about as well as anyone in this organization could have hoped for there are a few situations that I suspect turn out to be a little trickier than you might think.These three spots in particular are games where the Ravens could find thsmelves in a tough spot:Week 2 vs New OrleansThis will be Minter’s first home game as a head coach and there will be a lot of pressure on this team to reverse an ugly trend of not just losing at home but getting downright embarrassed in several instances (Texans game, Lions game, need I go on). I don’t know about the Saints going off on this version of the Ravens defense, but QB Tyler Shough performed better than most would expect a year ago and they won four of their last five games (albeit against tepid competition).It’s an unfamiliar opponent and one that is on the come. One that might be a little easy to look past with a kind of bizarro trip to Brazil to face the Cowboys in Week 3 and coming off their first game, at Indianapolis, which will obviously get a lot of prep time. I’m not a huge Brandon Staley guy, but the Saints defensive coordinator tuned up the run defense in the second half of the season and they finished top 10 in yards allowed per game.The Ravens will still very much be adjusting to a new staff and new concepts and ideas here and this might turn into a bit of a lower-scoring slog that comes down to the final few minutes … And the fourth quarter has obviously been a disaster for the Ravens for years.Week 6 at ClevelandGoing to Cleveland just tends to be a chore for this team. Weird things happen. Lamar Jackson tends to look a little off. Perhaps it’s because, you know, Baltimore stole the Browns from Cleveland, but this has a chance to be a thorn in the Ravens side. New Browns coach Todd Monken knows the Ravens well, and they know him well of course, too, but that dynamic could be problematic. The Ravens have lost three of their last five visits to Cleveland, despite almost always being favorites, The Ravens struggled to put up lofty point totals on Jim Schwartz’s defense on the road, and with Schwartz now gone from the Browns perhaps they’ll find more joy. Jackson has eight career passing touchdowns in seven games at Cleveland, completing just 64% of his passes.This is also a strange spot in which it will be the third straight game the Ravens face a team with a new head coach. I’m not so certain they are going to sweep that portion of the schedule. It would be a great spot to break free of some of the bugaboos from recent Ravens trips here, but I suspect that isn’t as simple as some might think.Week 14 vs Tampa This is the first game after Minter’s first bye. It’s fair to suggest the Ravens will have a winning record and, if the Vegas projections are accurate, they should be sitting in a good spot. The Bucs, much like the Ravens last year, fell short of the goals and injuries played no small role, but this is a team that went on the road a few years back and beat Green Bay in a big spot, they should have won at Buffalo last year., and they still managed some signature wins away from home in 2025.Historically, this is a spot where Baker Mayfield thrives. He was injured a year ago and the Bucs lost four straight on the road and five of their last six. However, prior to that collapse Mayfield was quite the road warrior – he won 11 of 14 road games from December 2023 til October 2025. This is a warm weather team but Mayfield has been a cold weather quarterback and this is another NFC South team that could be easy to overlook but might be much improved in 2026.Jackson has been able to move the ball on the Bucs historically, but I expect Todd Bowles to have a much more impactful defensive front this season, including top pick Rueben Bain. Jr, who the Ravens passed on to take guard Vega IoaneAnd even last season, which fell apart, included a win at Seattle over the eventually Lombard Trophy winners, where Mayfield hung 38 points on Mike Macdonald’s defense, which is basically the Ravens defense. And Mayfield hung 40 on Minter’s Chargers defense in December 2024 in a blowout win in LA.Hmm.Subscribe On YouTube For The Best Ravens Coverage:Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow