The Baltimore Ravens have a unique scheduling issue in 2024 that the NFL appears to regret. For the second consecutive year, the Ravens are scheduled to play an away game on Christmas. Last year, they played the San Francisco 49ers on the road, and this year, they will face the Houston Texans away from home.
In a podcast appearance on “The Season with Peter Schrager,” NFL vice president of broadcast planning Mike North acknowledged that it was perhaps unfair to have the Ravens play consecutive Christmas road games. He mentioned that the NFL aims to schedule major games on holidays, featuring top teams like the Ravens. However, he admitted that more consideration should have been given to the game venues.
“We put our biggest games in our biggest windows. Those holiday tentpoles become such good storylines for us and such good results for our broadcast partners,” North said. “You’re going to find the good teams, the teams you think are going to be playoff relevant, in those bigger windows over and over and over again. We probably shouldn’t put the Ravens on the road on Christmas again next year, but excited to see what they do on Christmas this year – definitely.”
While the Ravens aren’t the only team to play on Christmas in consecutive years—the Kansas City Chiefs are also doing so—other teams have had at least one home game in such spans. This isn’t the first time the NFL has made a scheduling error, and it’s likely that the Ravens won’t have an away game on Christmas in 2025.
