Beginning with Sunday's game against the New York Giants, the Ravens will play three games in 11 days for the first time in franchise history.
They'll face the Pittsburgh Steelers in a huge AFC North showdown on Saturday, Dec. 21, before visiting the Houston Texans on Christmas. That's a lot of football in a short period of time, and several factors will make that stretch even more challenging.
Start with the Giants game at MetLife Stadium, where many NFL players [have complained about the playing surface](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/metlife-stadium-turf-injuries-jets-giants/e45f3044ddf81e89345d5b80) in the past. [A new synthetic turf has been installed](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/36003498/new-field-turf-installed-metlife-stadium-home-giants-jets,) at MetLife since the Ravens last played there in 2022, but most players prefer grass fields.
The Giants and Jets share MetLife as their home field, and Ravens outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy played there many times when he was with the Patriots facing the Jets in the AFC East.
"I'm not a fan of it," Van Noy said. "The turf sucks. I'll be the one to say it. I've played there many times playing with the Jets. You better get massages on your feet and your knees and your hips after this one. That turf is brutal."
All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton says the challenge of playing three games in 11 days could be more mental than physical, but he's up for the test.
"I just kind of put myself in a basketball perspective, those guys play back-to-back," Hamilton said. "There's a little bit of merit to quote, unquote complaining about it, but they're playing 82 games, MLB players are playing 162 games, but we've got 17 we're trying to fight them to go to 18. We'll see who's most prepared down the stretch."