Rams to visit Ravens in 2021: Everything to know about the 17-game schedule
The NFL is officially moving to a 17-game regular season. Owners approved the addition of one regular-season game in 2021, laying out the structure of the schedule and the matchups for each team’s 17th game.
The Los Angeles Rams will take on the Baltimore Ravens, adding another tough team to an already-difficult schedule for Sean McVay’s squad. The Rams will also face the Packers, Buccaneers, Titans and Colts, as well as each NFC West team twice.
The NFC West will match up with the AFC North next season, with same-place finishers meeting in the 17th game. So because the Rams and Ravens finished second in 2020, they will face each other. The same goes for the Seahawks and the Steelers, who won their divisions.
Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about the new 17-game schedule, including its impact on the preseason.
The game will be played in Baltimore
With teams playing an odd number of games now, it's impossible for each to play an equal number of home and away contests. So in 2021, the AFC will host the NFC in the 17th game. In 2022, each NFC team will have an extra home game. It will rotate each year to make it fair for the teams in each conference. Of course, this adds a lot of mileage for the Rams next season, having to travel across the country to Baltimore. They'll also be on the road against the Giants, so ideally, the Rams would play those games in back-to-back weeks to limit the amount of travel necessary. https://twitter.com/andrewsiciliano/status/1376965140579426304?s=21
Rams are 2-5 all-time vs. Ravens
The Rams don't exactly have a strong track record against the Ravens. They're just 2-5 all-time against Baltimore, and have lost four in a row. Fans would probably rather forget the last meeting against the Ravens, which came in 2019. Baltimore won that game 45-6 in what was the worst performance by the Rams under Sean McVay, getting absolutely steamrolled at home. Three of the Ravens' five wins against the Rams have been by double-digits, though both of the Rams' wins were also by at least 10 points each.
Preseason shrinks to 3 games
With the regular season expanding to 17 games, the preseason will be condensed to only three games. So in total, teams will play 20 games each and all will have 10 home games. The AFC will host nine regular-season games and one preseason game, which means the Rams and the NFC will host eight regular-season games and two preseason games. There will be a bye between the third preseason game and the start of the regular season. https://twitter.com/BryanDFischer/status/1376966321938690050
Regular season will begin Sept. 9 and end Jan. 9
The NFL isn't moving up the start of the regular season to accommodate this schedule change. It will still start on time, but it will run an extra week into January. Officially, the season will begin on Thursday, Sept. 9 and conclude on Sunday, Jan. 9, with the postseason starting a week later. That means Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium will be pushed back a week to Feb. 13. https://twitter.com/AndrewSiciliano/status/1376967226138394628
International game for every team in next 8 years
As part of this schedule change, the NFL announced that every team will play an international game in the next eight years as part of the league's push to grow the game. This won't start next season, but it will begin in 2022. The NFL will assign four neutral site international games each year, putting every team on the slate once in a span of eight years. https://twitter.com/BenVolin/status/1376967597418278919
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