The 2016 season was the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

' 21st in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) and their ninth under

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

John Harbaugh John William Harbaugh ( ; born September 23, 1962) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he coached the defensive backs for the Philadelphia ...

. With a week 12 win over the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

, the Ravens improved upon their 5–11 record from

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, finishing the season 8–8. Despite the improvement, the Ravens failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive year after losing to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

in Week 16. It was the first time the Ravens missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons since

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

–

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, and their first consecutive non-winning seasons since

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

–

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. They did, however, improve their position in the division, finishing in second place after finishing in third place for the previous three seasons.

Draft

Notes * The Ravens traded their fifth-round selection and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Gino Gradkowski Gino Gradkowski (born November 5, 1988) is an American football coach and former center. He is the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for Rowan University, positions he has held since 2024. He was recently the offensive line coach fo ...

to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

in exchange for the Broncos' fourth-round selection. However, Gradkowski was released by the Broncos prior to the season. * The Ravens traded their seventh-round selection to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

in exchange for

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

Will Davis. * The Ravens received two fourth-round and a sixth-round compensatory pick (Nos. 132, 134, and 209 respectively) as the result of a negative differential of free agent signings and departures that the Ravens experienced during the free agency period.

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: Baltimore Ravens 13, Buffalo Bills 7

The Ravens started the season with the return of their injured starters from last season. While the offense played a fairly average game, the defense was dominant, holding former teammate

Tyrod Taylor Tyrod Di'allo Taylor (born August 3, 1989) is an American professional football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies and was selected by the Baltimore Rav ...

and the Bills offense to only 160 total yards. The team looked overall much better than last season, with no major injuries and few penalties (6 for 35 yards).

Week 2: Baltimore Ravens 25, Cleveland Browns 20

The Ravens traveled to their division rival

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

for their road opener. After Browns' starting quarterback

Robert Griffin III Robert Lee Griffin III (born February 12, 1990), nicknamed RGIII or RG3, is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, most notably with the Washington Redskins. He ...

was injured in week 1, the Ravens faced

Josh McCown Joshua Treadwell McCown (born July 4, 1979) is an American professional American football, football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college foo ...

who passed for 457 yards against them last season. After a dismal start in which the defense allowed 20 points in the first quarter, they bounced back with a blocked extra point for a safety, after which

Joe Flacco Joseph Vincent Flacco (born January 16, 1985) is an American professional football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Delaware Fightin' Blue ...

and the offense finally returned with full strength, with two touchdown passes to

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade car ...

and three Justin Tucker field goals, shutting out the Browns 25–0 in the final three-quarters.

Week 3: Baltimore Ravens 19, Jacksonville Jaguars 17

With the win, the Ravens improved to 3–0 and sat on top of the division with the Steelers' loss to the Eagles.

Week 4: Oakland Raiders 28, Baltimore Ravens 27

The Ravens stayed at home for a matchup against the Raiders who never won at Baltimore. Unfortunately the Ravens could not hold on to the lead after Derek Carr found Michael Crabtree in the end zone near the end of the game. Baltimore began driving down the field but the drive stalled allowing the Raiders to win at Baltimore for the first time in history dropping the Ravens 3–1. With the Steelers win, the Ravens dropped to second place in the AFC North

Week 5: Washington Redskins 16, Baltimore Ravens 10

After a dismal loss to the Redskins in which Joe Flacco and the offense were completely shut out in the second half, the Ravens Fired Offensive Coordinator

Marc Trestman Marc Marlyn Trestman (born January 15, 1956) is an American professional football coach. He led the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) to back-to-back Grey Cup victories in 2009 and 2010, and another as head coach of the T ...

. It was their first home loss to an NFC East team since 1997, when the Arizona Cardinals won at Memorial Stadium five years before moving to the NFC West.

Week 6: New York Giants 27, Baltimore Ravens 23

Trying to halt a two-game losing streak, the Ravens traveled to MetLife for one of their two straight games there. The Ravens had a chance to win the game by driving down the field in the final seconds, but the Giants defense held the Ravens back as Flacco threw an incompletion on the final play, dropping the Ravens to 3–3 and their second three-game losing streak in a year. The Ravens defense allowed Beckham two 60+ yard touchdowns, helping the Giants win.

Week 7: New York Jets 24, Baltimore Ravens 16

Trying to not fall to a four-game losing streak, the Ravens visited the New York Jets, who were also struggling. The Ravens offense did not get any better only managed a franchise record of six yards rushing in the entire game. The ineffective running game coupled with poor play from quarterback

resulted in the team's fourth straight loss as the team entered their bye week at 3–4. The Ravens had a chance to tie the game but were stopped allowing the Jets to win.

Week 9: Baltimore Ravens 21, Pittsburgh Steelers 14

With their 4th straight win over Pittsburgh the Ravens would ascend to 1st place in the AFC North.

Week 10: Baltimore Ravens 28, Cleveland Browns 7

After a Joe Flacco interception which led to the Browns 7–6 at halftime, the Ravens dominated the rest of the game scoring 22–0 the rest of the game and leaving the Ravens sole first place of the division.

Week 11: Dallas Cowboys 27, Baltimore Ravens 17

Week 12: Baltimore Ravens 19, Cincinnati Bengals 14

Week 13: Baltimore Ravens 38, Miami Dolphins 6

With the commanding win, the Ravens improved to 7–5.

Week 14: New England Patriots 30, Baltimore Ravens 23

With the loss, the Ravens fell to 7–6 and 1–8 all time against the Patriots in the regular season.

Week 15: Baltimore Ravens 27, Philadelphia Eagles 26

John Harbaugh faced his previous team, the Philadelphia Eagles. He was their special teams coordinator from 1998 to 2006 and their defensive backs coach in 2007. With their playoff hopes on the line, the Ravens were dealt a heavy hand against a struggling Eagles team. After giving up two scoring drives in the final six minutes, the Ravens escaped defeat when the Eagles went for two for the win and failed.

Week 16: Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Baltimore Ravens 27

NFL on Christmas Day Games held by the National Football League (NFL) on Christmas Day, December 25, was historically an occasional part of the league's schedule, but has been an annual occurrence since . The NFL had avoided annual Christmas Day games because the hol ...

Not only did the Ravens drop to 8–7, but their four-game winning streak over the Steelers was snapped and they were eliminated from the playoff contention for the second consecutive year.

Week 17: Cincinnati Bengals 27, Baltimore Ravens 10

This would be Steve Smith's Sr.'s final game in the NFL. He finished the game with three catches for 34 yards. After the game, he immediately retired, ending his 16-year career. With the loss, the Ravens ended their season at 8–8.

Standings

Division

Conference

References

External links

* {{2016 NFL season by team

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Baltimore Ravens seasons

2010s in Baltimore