The Cruelty of NFL Schedule Makers
The Baltimore Ravens will not be able to turn a fresh page this offseason, just as the Carolina Panthers weren't eight years ago
The NFL schedule makers were cruel to the Carolina Panthers in 2016. The Panthers were set to travel to Mile High to start the season, having to start a fresh new NFL year by watching the Denver Broncos raise a banner honoring Carolina’s defeat in Super Bowl 50.
It was a cruel affair. While the game makes sense to schedule on paper, a prime time matchup featuring the Super Bowl champion taking on an elite team led by reigning MVP Cam Newton, it must have disgruntled Carolina. They had to relive their heartbreaking defeat seven months earlier to start the season. It’s hard to turn the page and start anew when the league does everything to remind you what happened in the past.
The season opener played out similarly to the Super Bowl. Newton’s Panthers offense was flat. It had trouble finding rhythm against a stalwart Broncos defense. He would throw for just 194 yards, barely outplaying second-year seventh round pick Trevor Siemian, who was thrust into the starting role after the retirement of Peyton Manning and sudden exit of Brock Osweiler.
Carolina blew a double digit fourth quarter lead, and lost after Graham Gano sailed a potential game winning kick at the end of regulation wide left.
It left a sour taste in the Panthers’ mouth for the rest of the season. They limped to a 1-5 start — a year after going 15-1 — and finished the year 6-10. There were a lot of issues in Charlotte that year, but the terrible vibe they had to open the season may have certainly played a role in the spectacular collapse. A year later, they would go 11-5 and make the playoffs, leaving the season that started against the Broncos as a cruel outlier.
The NFL, not having learned its lesson, has put the Baltimore Ravens in a similar spot this season. The Ravens, like the Panthers, were the best team in the NFL last year after being carried by an MVP quarterback. Lamar Jackson’s squad expected to go to the Super Bowl, with the AFC looking weaker than ever it was primed to be their year.
Instead, they collapsed against the Kansas City Chiefs on their home field in the AFC Championship. The superstar quarterback was a ghost in the first ever conference championship game hosted in the Charm City.
After suffering defeat to the Chiefs at home, they will now have to pay a visit to Arrowhead Stadium to start the new season. The NFL announced Monday that it would pit Jackson against fellow two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes.
On paper, this match-up also makes sense. Start the new year with a bang. Two of the league’s biggest stars take center stage under the bright lights. It should be an incredible game.
But the night may not be defined by what happens during the 60 minutes of gametime on the field, but more so the ceremony that happens right before it. The Ravens will have to watch Kansas City lift a banner they surely feel they should be lifting themselves. Baltimore had smashed the San Francisco 49ers in the regular season, and would have been a strong favorite to beat them again in the Super Bowl, as the Chiefs did.
And then there is the way Baltimore lost. Their incredible offense was anemic against the Chiefs. They lost 17-10 in a game that didn’t see a touchdown from either team in the last 40 minutes of action. The Ravens got deep in Chiefs territory twice late in the game with a chance to get back into the game. These opportunities ended with a Zay Flowers goal line fumble and Jackson throwing a horrible pass into triple coverage.
Baltimore will try to put this game behind them this offseason, but now that is basically impossible. All summer, they will be thinking about Week 1, just as every team is. But while 31 other teams think about the excitement and optimism that comes with a new season, the Ravens will be stuck reliving last year’s demons.