1996 Baltimore Ravens season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Baltimore Ravens 1996 4–12 5th AFC Central Ted Marchibroda Marvin Lewis Art Modell Memorial Stadium Did not qualify QB Vinny TestaverdeFS Eric Turner no, 1995 (Browns) Ravens seasons The 1996 season was the Baltimore Ravens' inaugural season in the National Football League. They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens were officially a new franchise, but they retained a large portion of the roster of the 1995 Cleveland Browns team, as well as front office staff and some members of the coaching staff. Due to technically, but not officially, being the previous season's Browns team under a new name, they did not receive the number 1 overall draft selection or have an expansion draft as a true expansion franchise would. Baltimore had remained without an NFL football franchise for 12 years after the Baltimore Colts relocated to Indianapolis, Indiana.http://www.baltimoreravens.com/News/History/Baltimore_Football_History.aspx#1946 Baltimore Ravens History (1946–1984) Baltimoreravens.com 2010-02-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20100211225719/http://www.baltimoreravens.com/News/History/Baltimore_Football_History.aspx#1946 2010-02-11 dead In 1996, however, the NFL approved Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell's proposal to relocate the existing Browns organization to Baltimore, although the records and name of the Browns would remain in Cleveland, Ohio and the Baltimore franchise would officially be an expansion franchise.http://www.baltimoreravens.com/People/Staff/Executive/Art_Modell.aspx Art Modell Baltimoreravens.com Profile Baltimoreravens.com 2010-02-10 Modell purchased the Cleveland Browns for what was an unprecedented price of $4 million in 1961, and three decades later, in February 1996, he brought an NFL franchise back to Baltimore. For Art and his club, the move was not an easy one to make – and it was not easy for the team's fans to see their team go. Knowing this, Modell did not hesitate to leave the fans of Cleveland a legacy. He announced that he would give the name "Browns" to Cleveland for a future team. He also left the team's colors (orange and brown) and the rich and storied" 49-year history (1946–1995). https://web.archive.org/web/20100210155000/http://www.baltimoreravens.com/People/Staff/Executive/Art_Modell.aspx 2010-02-10 dead After Modell established the franchise in Baltimore, the team was named the "Baltimore Ravens" via a poll conducted by The Baltimore Sun. Because the Browns were temporarily deactivated under the terms of the settlement (they resumed play in 1999), the Ravens assumed the Browns' place in the American Football Conference (AFC) Central Division.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1996/ 1996 NFL Standings Pro-football-reference.com Sports Reference, LLC 2010-02-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20100211094812/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1996/ 11 February 2010 dead More than 50,000 season tickets were sold. Modell decided not to retain 1995 Browns coach Bill Belichick, who was fired. He instead hired former Baltimore Colts coach Ted Marchibroda. Marchibroda had previously been in his second stint coaching the Colts, guiding them to the 1995 AFC Championship Game, but could not come to terms on a contract extension in Indianapolis. Modell came to terms with Marchibroda only six days after he left the Colts organization to bring him back to Baltimore. As an organization, the Ravens failed to improve on the 1995 Browns' 5–11 record, finishing their first season with a 4–12 record under Marchibroda. At the Ravens’ first-ever regular season game, a then-record attendance of 64,124 was present in their win against the Oakland Raiders, 19–14, on September 1 at home.http://www.baltimoreravens.com/News/History/Baltimore_Football_History.aspx#1996 Baltimore Ravens History (1996) Baltimoreravens.com 2010-02-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20100211225719/http://www.baltimoreravens.com/News/History/Baltimore_Football_History.aspx#1996 2010-02-11 dead This win made them the first team since the 1961 Minnesota Vikings to win their inaugural game. Their second victory came in Week 5, against the New Orleans Saints at home, in which they became 2–2. In Week 7, the Ravens traveled to Indianapolis to play Baltimore's (and Marchibroda's) previous team. They, however, lost 26–21 and fell to 2–4. Their only other two victories were recorded at home in Week 9 against the St. Louis Rams and Week 14 against the Steelers. Although not a winning season, quarterback Vinny Testaverde and safety Eric Turner were voted into the Pro Bowl, and wide receivers Michael Jackson and Derrick Alexander became the fourth receiving duo to surpass the 1,000-yard receiving mark. The Ravens held second-half leads in ten of their final eleven games; they ultimately went 3–7 in games decided by one possession. Michael Jackson's 1,201 receiving yards is 2nd in franchise history after Mark Andrews in 2021, and his 14 touchdown receptions still stands as a franchise single-season record.Baltimore Ravens Single-Season Receiving Leaders Offseason Prior to the season, the Ravens hired several coaches, including head coach Ted Marchibroda and defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis. Offensive guard Jeff Blackshear was acquired for a future 4th round draft pick. The Ravens traded 3rd, 4th, and 7th round draft picks for the Broncos’ second round selection (#55 overall). NFL draft 1996 NFL draft 1996 Baltimore Ravens 1 4 Jonathan Ogden Offensive tackle UCLA yes yes yes 1 26 Ray Lewis Linebacker Miami (FL) yes yes yes 2 55 DeRon Jenkins Cornerback Tennessee yes 5 153 Jermaine Lewis Wide receiver Maryland yes yes 6 172 Dexter Daniels Linebacker Florida yes 6 186 James Roe Wide receiver Norfolk State yes 7 238 Jon Stark Quarterback Trinity International https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/rav/1996_draft.htm 1996 Baltimore Ravens Draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com February 1, 2014 Personnel Staff / Coaches 1996 Baltimore Ravens Owner and president – Art Modell Director of football operations – Ozzie Newsome Director of college scouting – Phil Savage Pro personnel coordinator – Scott Pioli Head coach – Ted Marchibroda Assistant head coach/offense – Kirk Ferentz Quarterbacks – Don Strock Running backs – Al Lavan Wide receivers – Mike Sheppard Tight ends – Pat Hill Quality control/offense – Eric Mangini Defensive coordinator – Marvin Lewis Defensive line – Jacob Burney Linebackers – Maxie Baughan Defensive backs – Alvin Reynolds Quality control/defense – Jim Schwartz Special teams – Scott O'Brien Quality control/special teams – John Settle Strength and conditioning – Jerry Simmons Roster 1996 Baltimore Ravens  6 Scott Otis y 12 Vinny Testaverde 10 Eric Zeier 23 Randy Baldwin 21 Earnest Byner 35 Carwell Gardner FB 33 Bam Morris 82 Derrick Alexander wide receiver 85 Ray Ethridge 81 Michael Jackson wide receiver 84 Jermaine Lewis American football, born 1974 y KR/PR 83 James Roe American football y 87 Floyd Turner 86 Eric Green tight end 48 Frank Hartley American football 88 Brian Kinchen LS 70 Herman Arvie T 69 Jeff Blackshear G 77 Orlando Brown American football, born 1970 T 61 Steve Everitt C 64 Sale Isaia G 66 Tony Jones offensive tackle T 67 Quentin Neujahr C 75 Jonathan Ogden y G 63 Wally Williams American football C 90 Rob Burnett American football DE 78 Dan Footman DT 91 Elliott Fortune DE 94 Mike Frederick DT 73 Tim Goad DT 97 James Jones defensive lineman DT 95 Rick Lyle DE 98 Anthony Pleasant DE 56 Mike Caldwell linebacker OLB 55 Sedric Clark y OLB 51 Mike Croel OLB 53 Dexter Daniels American football y ILB 50 Keith Goganious OLB 52 Ray Lewis y MLB 59 Craig Powell American football OLB 54 Eddie Sutter ILB 57 Jerrol Williams OLB 43 Vashone Adams FS 24 Donny Brady CB 22 Dorian Brew y CB 36 Corey Dowden CB 25 DeRon Jenkins y CB 38 Antonio Langham CB 27 Stevon Moore SS 37 Bennie Thompson American football SS 29 Eric Turner American football FS  9 Greg Montgomery P  3 Matt Stover K -- Jon Stark American football y QB PUP 53 active, 1 inactive, 4 practice squad 71 Spencer Folau y T 89 A. J. Ofodile TE -- Richard Thomas runningback y RB -- Larry Williams defensive tackle y DT https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/rav/1996_roster.htm 1996 Baltimore Ravens starters and roster Pro-Football-Reference.com October 30, 2014 Preseason Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 August 3, 1996 Philadelphia Eagles W 17–9 1–0 Memorial Stadium 2 August 10, 1996 at New York Giants W 37–27 2–0 Giants Stadium 3 August 17, 1996 Green Bay Packers L 15–17 2–1 Memorial Stadium 4 August 23, 1996 at Buffalo Bills W 37–14 3–1 Rich Stadium1996 Baltimore Ravens schedule and results Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 1 Oakland Raiders W 19–14 1–0 Memorial Stadium 64,124 2 September 8 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–31 1–1 Three Rivers Stadium 57,241 3 September 15 at Houston Oilers L 13–29 1–2 Astrodome 20,082 4 Bye 5 September 29 New Orleans Saints W 17–10 2–2 Memorial Stadium 61,063 6 October 6 New England Patriots L 38–46 2–3 Memorial Stadium 63,569 7 October 13 at Indianapolis Colts L 21–26 2–4 RCA Dome 56,978 8 October 20 at Denver Broncos L 34–45 2–5 Mile High Stadium 70,453 9 October 27 St. Louis Rams W 37–31 (OT) 3–5 Memorial Stadium 60,256 10 November 3 Cincinnati Bengals L 21–24 3–6 Memorial Stadium 60,743 11 November 10 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 27–30 3–7 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium 64,628 12 November 17 at San Francisco 49ers L 20–38 3–8 3Com Park 51,596 13 November 24 Jacksonville Jaguars L 25–28 (OT) 3–9 Memorial Stadium 57,384 14 December 1 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–17 4–9 Memorial Stadium 51,822 15 December 8 at Cincinnati Bengals L 14–21 4–10 Riverfront Stadium 43,022 16 December 15 at Carolina Panthers L 16–27 4–11 Ericcson Stadium 70,075 17 December 22 Houston Oilers L 21–24 4–12 Memorial Stadium 52,704 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1: vs Oakland Raiders Baltimore Ravens 1996 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 1: Oakland Raiders at Baltimore Ravens September 1, 1996 1:00 p.m. EST Raiders 0 14 0 0 Ravens 7 0 6 6 Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland 64,124 Overcast, 71 F C NBC Tom Hammond, Bob Trumpy First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers OAK – Billy Joe Hobert – 17/26, 192 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT BAL – Vinny Testaverde – 19/33, 254 yards Top rushers OAK – Harvey Williams – 13 rushes, 39 yards BAL – Earnest Byner – 14 rushes, 43 yards, TD Top receivers OAK – James Jett – 4 receptions, 65 yards BAL – Michael Jackson – 3 receptions, 60 yards Week 3: at Houston Oilers Baltimore Ravens 1996 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week Three: Baltimore Ravens at Houston Oilers – Game summary September 15 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CDT Ravens 0 7 0 6 Oilers 14 3 9 3 Astrodome, Houston, Texas 20,082 None (indoor stadium) NBC Dan Hicks and Bart Oates (blacked out locally) Box score Top passers HOU – Frank Wycheck 3-yard pass from Chris Chandler (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 7–0. HOU – Willie Davis 18-yard pass from Chris Chandler (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 14–0. Second quarter BAL – Michael Jackson 7-yard pass from Vinny Testaverde (Matt Stover kick). Oilers 14–7. HOU – Al Del Greco 41-yard field goal. Oilers 17–7. Third quarter HOU – Greg Montgomery run out of own end zone. Oilers 19–7. HOU – Ronnie Harmon 2-yard run (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 26–7. Fourth quarter HOU – Al Del Greco 44-yard field goal. Oilers 29–7. BAL – Herman Arvie 1-yard pass from Vinny Testaverde (pass failed). Oilers 29–13. Top passers BAL – Vinny Testaverde – 25/40, 217 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT HOU – Chris Chandler – 16/27, 162 yards, 2 TD Top rushers BAL – Earnest Byner – 19 rushes, 68 yards HOU – Eddie George – 17 rushes, 74 yards Top receivers BAL – Michael Jackson – 6 receptions, 86 yards, TD HOU – Frank Wycheck – 6 receptions, 64 yards, TD Standings NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 291 References 30em External links 1996 Baltimore Ravens at jt-sw.com 1996 Baltimore Ravens at Pro-Football-Reference.com Baltimore Ravens Category:Baltimore Ravens seasons Baltimore Ravens Category:1990s in Baltimore