11-27-2024 5:04am

RAVENS RETURN

Ravens to Be Part of Late Season 'Hard Knocks' Focused on AFC North

By Clifton Brown, BaltimoreRavens.com

For the first time since 2001, the Ravens will be part of HBO's "Hard Knocks" docuseries.

HBO and NFL Films announced Monday that the entire AFC North will be the focus of in-season "Hard Knocks" towards the end of the 2024 campaign. The first episode will air Dec. 3, as the award-winning program changes its approach from focusing on one team to featuring an entire division.

New episodes featuring the Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers will premiere on subsequent Tuesdays through the end of the regular season and continue into the playoffs in January 2025.

"Last season the AFC North became the first division ever to have all four teams finish with a winning record, making it the perfect place to launch this new approach to 'Hard Knocks,'" said Keith Cossrow, NFL Films vice president and head of content.

The Ravens were featured in the debut of "Hard Knocks" in 2001 as the defending Super Bowl champs, coming off their 34-7 victory over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXVII. That Baltimore team featured colorful personalities like Ray Lewis, Shannon Sharpe, Tony Siragusa, and Head Coach Brian Billick who helped give the show an instant following.

This year's 2024 AFC North version of "Hard Knocks" will feature four teams led by high-profile quarterbacks – two-time MVP Lamar Jackson of the Ravens, Joe Burrow of the Bengals, Deshaun Watson of the Browns and Russell Wilson in his first season with the Steelers. It will also feature the NFL's two current longest-tenured head coaches – Mike Tomlin of Pittsburgh entering his 18th season and John Harbaugh of the Ravens entering his 17th season.

"We thank the Bengals, Browns, Ravens and Steelers for the opportunity to showcase some of the greatest rivalries in football and present the intensity of a playoff chase from all four corners of this incredibly competitive division," Cossrow said.