Roquan Smith didn’t expect the Ravens to be 0-2 at this point. Neither did John Harbaugh or pretty much anyone else in the Ravens organization. Someone, though, did expect it: Whoever ran the season simulator with the Strat-O-Matic game company nailed the Ravens’ 0-2 start.
The Glen Head, N.Y.-based company, which produces board games and online versions across multiple sports, ran a 2024 full-season NFL simulation, and in its “season,” the Ravens indeed lost their first two games to the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders. In fact, the simulation nearly hit the Raiders score on the head; Strat-O-Matic predicted a 27-24 Ravens loss, while it was actually 26-23. (Strat-O-Matic had the Chiefs beating the Ravens 32-20.)
If it’s any consolation, the Strat-O-Matic simulation had the Ravens winning at Dallas this coming weekend, 29-16, for the first win in a five-game winning streak that included wins over both Buffalo (28-21) and Cincinnati (37-28).
If that happens and the Ravens stand 3-2 after five games, then the panic of these two season-opening losses might feel as if it is behind the team and its fans. Of course, for that to happen, much will have to improve over these first two games.
John Harbaugh said it as bluntly as he could in his Monday news conference on Sept. 16, a day after the team lost to Las Vegas to fall to 0-2 for the first time since 2015: “We’re not a consistent football team right now.”
For the Ravens to get on any winning streak, they will need to play better in all three phases. The offensive line is going to have to come together, the defense is going to have to get stops with a late lead, and the special teams is going to have to execute better than they have.
The Strat-O-Matic simulation had the Ravens rebounding from the 0-2 start to finish atop the AFC North at 10-7. Possible? Certainly. It would also be historic; of the other four Ravens teams to begin 0-2, none finished with a winning record, let alone a playoff berth.
Speaking of the playoffs, Strat-O-Matic predicted another early playoff exit for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, this time against the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card round.
As for the Super Bowl, the Chiefs’ attempt at a three-peat came up short in the simulated season with a Super Bowl loss to the Cowboys, 27-16.
Dallas, which on the actual field was embarrassed by the New Orleans Saints this past weekend, hosts the Ravens this coming Sunday, Sept. 22, in a contest of two teams who have not looked like either expected thus far.
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