The NFL preseason may not count in the standings, but that hasn’t stopped teams from putting together some remarkable winning streaks.
So, what is the longest winning streak in NFL preseason history?
The Baltimore Ravens hold the NFL record with 24 consecutive preseason victories, a streak that began in 2016 and lasted until 2023.
Baltimore’s remarkable run surpassed the previous record of 19 consecutive preseason wins by the Green Bay Packers from 1959 through 1962.
Twenty-four straight wins in games that supposedly “don’t matter.” NFL preseason statistics may be forgotten quickly but this preseason record won’t.
Let’s take a closer look at how the Ravens did it, the record they broke and how one of the strangest winning streaks in NFL history finally came to an end.
What Is the NFL Record for Consecutive Preseason Wins?
The official record is:
Baltimore Ravens — 24 consecutive NFL preseason wins
The Ravens won every preseason game they played from 2016 until August 21, 2023.
Baltimore’s final victory of the streak came against the Philadelphia Eagles on August 12, 2023. The Ravens won 20–19 to extend their record to 24 straight preseason victories.
The streak ended nine days later.
Washington defeated Baltimore 29–28 on a 49-yard Joey Slye field goal with 10 seconds remaining.
For the first time since 2015, the Baltimore Ravens had lost a preseason football game.
When Did the Baltimore Ravens’ Preseason Winning Streak Begin?
Baltimore’s streak began on August 11, 2016, with a 22–19 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
The Ravens proceeded to win all four of their preseason games that year.
Then they did it again.
And again.
Baltimore went undefeated during the preseason in:
- 2016
- 2017
- 2018
- 2019
- 2021
- 2022
There was no NFL preseason in 2020 after the league canceled the preseason schedule.
Baltimore returned in 2021 and simply kept winning.
By the time the streak finally ended in 2023, the Ravens had gone more than seven years without losing a preseason game.
How Did the Ravens Break the NFL Preseason Record?
Before Baltimore came along, the NFL preseason winning-streak record belonged to one of the most famous dynasties in football history.
Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers won 19 consecutive preseason games from 1959 through 1962.
That record stood for decades.
Then came Baltimore.
The Ravens tied Green Bay’s 19-game record with a victory over the Carolina Panthers in August 2021.
One week later, Baltimore defeated Washington 37–3 to win its 20th consecutive preseason game and establish a new NFL record.
And the Ravens weren’t finished.
They won three more games during the 2022 preseason, pushing the record to 23.
Then Baltimore opened the 2023 preseason with a 20–19 victory over Philadelphia.
Twenty-four.
That would be the final number.
The Ravens Didn’t Just Win — They Dominated
Winning 24 consecutive football games under any circumstances is unusual.
But Baltimore didn’t simply survive its preseason schedule.
During the 24-game streak, the Ravens outscored their opponents 542–261.
That’s a scoring margin of:
+281 points.
The streak included blowouts such as:
- 31–7 over Miami in 2017
- 33–7 over the Los Angeles Rams in 2018
- 29–0 over Jacksonville in 2019
- 37–3 over Washington in 2021
But there were also plenty of close calls.
Baltimore won 17–16 against Chicago in 2018.
The Ravens beat Indianapolis 20–19 later that same preseason.
They escaped New Orleans 17–14 in 2021.
Washington came within two points in 2022.
And Philadelphia came within one point of ending the streak in 2023.
Twenty-four games.
Twenty-four wins.
Sometimes dominant. Sometimes barely.
But always a win.
For the complete game-by-game results from all 24 victories, see our breakdown of the Baltimore Ravens’ record preseason winning streak.
Why Were the Ravens So Good in the Preseason?
There’s no single statistic that completely explains Baltimore’s streak.
That’s part of what makes it fascinating.
Preseason football is inherently unpredictable.
Starters frequently play limited snaps or don’t play at all. Rosters change dramatically from year to year. Undrafted free agents and rookies get significant playing time. Coaches experiment with personnel, schemes and position battles.
Over a seven-year span, hundreds of players can pass through an NFL organization.
Yet Baltimore kept winning.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh pointed toward preparation, player development and organizational culture when discussing the streak.
That explanation makes sense when you consider what preseason football actually tests.
For established starters, August is largely preparation.
For a rookie, backup or player fighting for the 53-man roster?
It may be one of the most important games of his career.
Baltimore consistently managed to get winning performances from those players.
Who Played During the Ravens’ 24-Game Streak?
One of the most remarkable aspects of the streak is how many different players contributed to it.
This wasn’t one dominant Ravens roster winning 24 games.
The streak lasted from 2016 through 2023.
Quarterbacks came and went. Rookies became veterans. Players were traded, released and retired. Entire position groups turned over.
Fourteen different quarterbacks threw passes for Baltimore during the streak.
By the time the streak ended, only Justin Tucker and Ronnie Stanley had been Ravens for the entire run.
And there’s an especially fun bit of symmetry involving quarterback Josh Johnson.
Johnson was with Baltimore when the streak began in 2016.
Seven years later, he started the game in which it ended.
How Did the Ravens’ Preseason Winning Streak End?
It took nearly seven years and a dramatic Monday night finish.
On August 21, 2023, the Ravens traveled to face the Washington Commanders.
Baltimore entered the game riding its NFL-record 24-game preseason winning streak.
And for a while, number 25 looked entirely possible.
The Ravens held a 28–20 fourth-quarter lead.
Washington quarterback Jake Fromm then led the Commanders on a touchdown drive to cut Baltimore’s lead to 28–26.
The two-point conversion failed.
Baltimore still led.
Washington got the ball back one more time.
Fromm moved the Commanders into field-goal range, setting up kicker Joey Slye.
With 10 seconds remaining, Slye connected from 49 yards.
Washington 29.
Baltimore 28.
Streak over.
The final score was almost fitting.
After 24 consecutive victories, the NFL’s longest preseason winning streak ended by one point with 10 seconds left.
What Was the Previous NFL Preseason Winning Streak Record?
Before the Ravens, the record belonged to the Green Bay Packers, who won 19 consecutive preseason games from 1959 through 1962.
And these weren’t just any Packers.
This was the beginning of the Vince Lombardi era.
Lombardi became Green Bay’s head coach in 1959 and quickly transformed the franchise into the dominant NFL team of the 1960s.
The Packers won NFL championships in 1961 and 1962 during the same general period as their preseason streak.
Green Bay’s 19-game preseason winning streak survived for decades before Baltimore finally surpassed it in 2021.
That gives the Ravens’ record some interesting historical company.
Two very different eras.
Two very successful organizations.
And two preseason winning streaks separated by more than half a century.
Does a Long Preseason Winning Streak Predict Regular-Season Success?
Not necessarily.
And this is where preseason statistics and records get interesting.
Winning 24 consecutive preseason games is undeniably impressive.
But preseason wins are not reliable predictors of regular-season success.
NFL teams use preseason games differently. Starters may sit. Coaches evaluate backups. Winning a particular game may be less important than evaluating players, testing schemes or keeping established stars healthy.
We’ve seen the opposite extreme, too.
The 2008 Detroit Lions went 4–0 in the preseason and then finished the regular season 0–16.
The 2017 Cleveland Browns did the same thing.
That’s why preseason performance needs context.
Baltimore’s streak is remarkable because of its sheer duration and consistency—not because winning preseason games automatically predicted what the Ravens would do once the regular season began.
Why the Ravens’ 24-Game Record Is So Difficult to Break
Consider what another NFL team would need to do to break Baltimore’s record.
Since the NFL moved to a three-game preseason for most teams, a franchise generally has only three opportunities per year.
A team winning three preseason games every year would need:
Eight consecutive undefeated preseasons just to tie Baltimore’s 24-game record.
To break it?
They’d need to win again the following year.
And that’s assuming the team never loses.
One bad fourth quarter.
One missed field goal.
One turnover.
One breakout performance from an opponent fighting for a roster spot.
One 49-yard field goal with 10 seconds left.
Start over.
That’s what makes 24 consecutive preseason victories so statistically fascinating, regardless of how much weight anyone assigns to the games themselves.
Frequently Asked Questions About the NFL Preseason Winning Streak Record
What is the longest winning streak in NFL preseason history?
The Baltimore Ravens hold the NFL record with 24 consecutive preseason victories from 2016 through 2023.
Which team had the NFL preseason winning streak record before Baltimore?
The Green Bay Packers held the previous record with 19 consecutive preseason victories from 1959 through 1962 during the Vince Lombardi era.
When did the Ravens’ preseason winning streak end?
Baltimore’s streak ended on August 21, 2023, when the Washington Commanders defeated the Ravens 29–28.
Who ended the Ravens’ preseason winning streak?
The Washington Commanders ended Baltimore’s record streak. Joey Slye kicked a 49-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining to give Washington the 29–28 victory.
When was the Ravens’ last preseason loss before the streak?
Baltimore’s previous preseason loss came on September 3, 2015, against the Atlanta Falcons.
Was there an NFL preseason in 2020?
No. The NFL canceled the 2020 preseason, so Baltimore’s winning streak carried from the 2019 preseason into 2021 without any preseason games being played in between.
The Longest NFL Preseason Winning Streak: 24 Games
NFL records come in all shapes and sizes.
Some decide championships.
Some define careers.
And some happen during games that don’t even count in the standings.
The Baltimore Ravens’ 24 consecutive preseason victories from 2016 through 2023 remain the longest preseason winning streak in NFL history.
They surpassed a record established by Vince Lombardi’s Packers more than half a century earlier and then added five more victories before Washington finally stopped them.
Does that make Baltimore the greatest preseason team ever?
That’s a debate for another day.
But one thing isn’t debatable:
Twenty-four straight preseason wins is the NFL record.
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