The final time the Ravens performed in London was in 2017 in what was a blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium. Afterward, coach John Harbaugh stated he had little interest in going again anytime quickly.
Six years later, the Ravens and Harbaugh are headed again abroad.
The NFL unveiled its slate of 5 worldwide video games on Wednesday morning, and the Ravens will play the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 15 in a Week 6matchup at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The sport will kick off at 9:30 a.m. and be broadcast on the NFL Community.
“We stay up for taking over the Titans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium,” Ravens president Sashi Brownsaid in an announcement. “It’s thrilling to witness and play a task within the NFL’s rise in reputation throughout the globe. That is an unbelievable alternative to play in entrance of and join with Ravens followers in the UK and all through Europe.”
The group’s full 2023 schedule, which additionally consists of three journeys to the West Coast to play the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Chargers, will likely be launched at 8 p.m. Thursday.
This marks simply the second worldwide recreation within the Ravens’ 28-year existence. They hope it goes higher than their first.
In a blundering efficiency stuffed with missed tackles and three turnovers, the Jaguars embarrassed the Ravens, 44-7, within the Week 3 matchup.
“We fell flat on our faces,” then-Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith stated.
“They out-executed us in each part of the sport,” added Ravens receiver Jeremy Maclin. “That’s what occurs within the Nationwide Soccer League while you don’t come able to play.”
Again then, Joe Flacco was the Ravens’ quarterback and didn’t full a cross or handle a primary down till almost 4 minutes to go within the second quarter. The Jaguars led 23-0 at halftime and didn’t look again.
Flacco accomplished 8 of 18 passes for simply 28 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns earlier than being yanked for Ryan Mallett, who accomplished 6 of 9 passes for 36 yards and the Ravens’ lone landing. Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles, in the meantime, was 20-for-31 for 244 yards with 4 touchdowns.
Harbaugh didn’t maintain again in his feedback the day after the sport.
“Perhaps I’ll get into hassle for saying this — don’t plan on going over there any time quickly to play once more,” he stated. “So, someone else can have that job.”
He additionally appeared to take intention on the NFL along with his criticism, significantly over the logistics concerned with enjoying a recreation abroad. The Ravens’ resort was 45 minutes exterior London and the group practiced for 2 days on the facility of an area rugby group.
“There have been some sure issues that got here up that you simply take a look at it and also you go, ‘That wasn’t supreme,’” Harbaugh stated then. “However we actually had no means of figuring out that. Some issues we have now no management over. We've no management the place we keep, how far the bus experience is, how lengthy it takes to get to the stadium. What affect it had are issues we take a look at.”
The 37-point drubbing matched the biggest margin of defeat in franchise historical past.
That wasn’t all.
Because the nationwide anthem started to play earlier than the sport, about 25 Ravens and Jaguars gamers — together with former Ravens star and Corridor of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, who was working the sport as an analyst for Fox Sports activities — took a knee in protest in opposition to racial injustice and police brutality and in response to then-President Donald Trump’s inflammatory feedback earlier within the week about athletes protesting throughout the anthem. It was the primary of a number of protests by gamers across the league that day.
However this journey ought to be markedly totally different from the final.
The Ravens enter this season on the excessive of getting just lately re-signed quarterback Lamar Jackson to a five-year extension after two years of inauspicious negotiations and his request in March to be traded. With already one of many league’s finest defenses and the addition of two-time All-Professional extensive receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in free company and wideout Zay Flowers within the draft, Baltimore has shortly gone from a group with query marks to a possible Tremendous Bowl contender.
As for the Titans, they’re coming off a 9-7 season and led by quarterback Ryan Tannehill and operating again Derrick Henry, although they may look to commerce each stars and enter a rebuild.
Just like the Ravens, additionally they misplaced of their final recreation abroad, falling to the then-San Diego Chargers, 20-19, in 2018 when coach Mike Vrabel opted to attempt a game-winning 2-point conversion with 31 seconds to play and quarterback Marcus Mariota’s cross to extensive receiver Taywan Taylor fell incomplete.
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