Raven Country

Kickoff Time For Ravens' Week 18 Game vs. Browns Revealed

The Baltimore Ravens look for revenge as they close out the regular season.

Jon Alfano

Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Shelby Harris (93) closes in on Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) during the second half of an NFL football game at Huntington Bank Field, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Shelby Harris (93) closes in on Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) during the second half of an NFL football game at Huntington Bank Field, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Baltimore Ravens' regular season finale against the Cleveland Browns will kick off from M&T Bank Stadium at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, the NFL announced Sunday night.

In recent years, the league has declined to announce the kickoff times for Week 18 games, instead holding off to place the most impactful games in the spotlight.

Two games will get their own time slots on Saturday. In this case, the AFC North will take center stage as the Cincinnati Bengals face the Pittsburgh Steelers at 8 p.m. ET.

The games with little to no impact on the playoff picture will usually take place in Sunday's early window, while the games with implications will typically go in the late window. Sunday Night Football usually features a game between teams that must win or face elimination, or games with big seeding implications.

The league also tends to place games with a direct impact on other games in the same window in order to avoid teams resting their starters or taking games less seriously. However, this schedule breaks that tradition as the Ravens can clinch the AFC North with a win and lock the Steelers into a wild card spot. Pittsburgh is still at risk of falling down to the No. 6 seed with a loss, so it still has something to play for at least.

Furthermore, the Ravens will also look to extract some revenge in this game. Back in Week 8, their five-game winning streak came to a screeching halt with 29-24 loss to the Browns in Cleveland. Baltimore played some incredibly sloppy football in that game, particularly on defense, so it'll look to right that wrong this time around.

This situation is also eerily similar to Lamar Jackson's rookie season in 2018, when the Ravens beat the Browns in the final game of the regular season to clinch the AFC North and eliminate the Steelers. Pittsburgh will still make the playoffs if Baltimore wins this time, but it's still a fun parallel.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

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