Linebacker Roquan Smith was pleased to see what the NFL had up their sleeve for the Ravens in Week One.
The Ravens’ 2024 season came to an end against the Bills in a 27-25 road loss in the divisional round of the playoffs and they will be back in Buffalo on the first Sunday night of the 2025 season. During an appearance on NFL Network, Smith said that the defeat served as “motivation throughout the offseason” and that makes going back to the scene of Baltimore’s “misery” has him excited to get to September.
“Yeah, just how I like it,” Smith said. “Revenge is best served as a cold dish, you know. So, it will be nice to get up to Buffalo and get a little payback for those guys from the end of the year.”
Week One results don’t always prove predictive in the long haul and Smith said he knows teams have to show their ability “game in and game out” to compete at the highest levels, but there’s still a lot to be said for getting off on the right foot against a team that expects to be a title contender this year.
The 17th weekend of the 2025 season starts with a trio of Christmas games. It continues with a Saturday tripleheader, capped by an exclusive prime-time game on Peacock.
The three games for the Saturday slate will come from a group of five games.
The five games earmarked for the Saturday shift are Seahawks at Panthers, Cardinals at Bengals, Ravens at Packers, Texans at Chargers, and Giants at Raiders.
The best of the bunch, as of May 14, is Ravens at Packers. Texans at Chargers is close behind, since it’s a playoff rematch from 2024.
The other games could become more compelling as the season unfolds. And with five games in play to be dropped into prime time on Saturday night, chances are at least one will involve a pair of teams in playoff contention.
The NFL revealed one of the three Thanksgiving games during their pre-schedule release leaks this week and the other two became official on Wednesday evening.
The Lions will host the Packers in the first game of the annual tripleheader and the Bengals will be in Baltimore to face the Ravens in the nightcap. The Chiefs’ visit to the Cowboys in the late afternoon slot was announced ahead of those games.
Green Bay was a yearly opponent of the Lions on Thanksgiving in the 1950s and 1960s, but they have appeared less frequently in recent decades. They beat the Lions 29-22 in 2023 and beat the Dolphins at home last year, so this will be their third straight appearance on the fourth Thursday of November.
The Bengals have only made one appearance on Thanksgiving and lost to the Jets in 2010. The Ravens are 2-0 on the holiday while the Packers are 16-20-2 and the Lions are 38-45-2.
The last two NFL MVPs will square off on the first Sunday night of the 2025 season.
2023 MVP Lamar Jackson and the Ravens will pay a visit to Buffalo to take on 2024 MVP Josh Allen and the Bills. That game and the other 17 Sunday night matchups will be broadcast on NBC, although we’ll have to wait until the end of Week 17 to know who will be involved in the final game of the year.
The Bills beat the Ravens in the divisional round of the playoffs last year and both teams have designs on supplanting the Chiefs as the top team in the AFC this season.
Flex scheduling rules could change the schedule during the season. It may be used up to twice between Weeks 5-10 of the regular season and at the league’s discretion from Weeks 11-17.
The initial schedule for Sunday Night Football during the 2025 season appears below:
Week 1 - Ravens at Bills.
Week 2 - Falcons at Vikings.
Week 3 - Chiefs at Giants.
Week 4 - Packers at Cowboys.
Week 5 - Patriots at Bills.
Week 6 - Lions at Chiefs.
Week 7 - Falcons at 49ers.
Week 8 - Packers at Steelers.
Week 9 - Seahawks at Commanders.
Week 10 - Steelers at Chargers.
Week 11 - Lions at Eagles.
Week 12 - Buccaneers at Rams.
Week 13 - Broncos at Commanders.
Week 14 - Texans at Chiefs.
Week 15 - Vikings at Cowboys.
Week 16 - Bengals at Dolphins.
Week 17 - Bears at 49ers.
Week 18 - TBD.
Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh have both expressed a desire to extend Derrick Henry’s contract during the offseason.
With the draft in the rearview mirror, the club was able to strike a deal with the running back.
According to multiple reports, Henry has agreed to a two-year extension with Baltimore through the 2027 season. His contract was previously set to expire after 2025.
The initial reports indicate Henry’s new deal is worth $30 million over those two years with $25 million guaranteed.
Henry, 31, was a force for the Ravens in 2024, helping the club win a second consecutive AFC North title. He finished with 1,921 yards rushing with a league-leading 16 touchdowns. He also caught 19 passes for 193 yards with two TDs.
His rushing total was the second-highest in his career behind the 2020 season when he rushed for 2,027 yards to become the AP offensive player of the year.
Playing alongside quarterback Lamar Jackson, Henry is poised to keep his high rushing totals churning for the next few years. He is the NFL’s active leader in rushing yards (11,423) and rushing touchdowns (106).
