This isn't the first time the Baltimore Ravens have been expected to be competing for a championship entering a new season.
But approaching the 2025 schedul, the Ravens' Super Bowl aspirations may be stronger than ever after last season's playoff heartbreak.
This roster will always be pinned as a contender as long as perennial MVP candidate Lamar Jackson is running the show under center. This offseason, Baltimore did well in holding the foundation around him by retaining crucial pieces in running back Derrick Henry and offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley. Defensively, the front office made due in the secondary with a savvy pickup of veteran cornerback Jaire Alexander - despite needing a nudge in that direction by Jackson.
Is this enough around Lamar? The quarterback is the only player in NFL history to win multiple MVP awards without a Super Bowl. Could this be the year?
Bleacher Report believes the pressure is on, to the tune of 9 out of 10 on their scale - which was the second-highest rating in the league, just behind the reigning champion Philadelphia Eagles.
"[The] Baltimore Ravens are one of the few teams that should have a Super Bowl-or-bust mentality," Moe Moton writes. "Since Lamar Jackson took over as Baltimore's starting quarterback in 2018, the Ravens have made the playoffs in six out of seven years. Yet, they haven't won an AFC Championship Game with him under center."
Baltimore has lost by one possession in the last three playoffs, most recently last season when a dropped Mark Andrews two-point conversion would have tied the game in the waning moments.
Jackson, however, isn't excused from all of these shortcomings. B/R notes how the dual-threat quarterback has struggled in the playoffs throwing the ball. Lamar has appeared in eight postseason games, throwing 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions on a below average 61 percent completion rate. However, Jackson has improved his play in the playoffs mightily over the last few years.
If this roster doesn't have what it takes when the lights are the brightest, Moton questions what else could be done.
"If the Ravens fall short of a Super Bowl appearance, one has to wonder what the team must do to get over the playoff hump," he wrote. "That said, Harbaugh and his coaching staff have strong job security, and Baltimore has begun negotiations with Jackson's camp on an extension."
The Ravens begin their season against another team with dreams of climbing the AFC mountain in the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football.
Baltimore currently has +700 odds of winning the Super Bowl this season - tied for the shortest in the NFL with the Eagles and Bills.