The Browns left Cleveland after the 1995 season and relocated to Baltimore. Leaving the team’s colors and franchise history in Cleveland, the Ravens were, and are, considered an expansion team in terms of franchise history. They adopted new colors, a new logo, and a new team name that spoke to Baltimore’s literary history. Inspired by one of longtime Baltimore resident Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous works, the team became the “Ravens.”
The Raiders made their first trip to Baltimore since the 1977 AFC Divisional Playoffs and the famous “Ghost to the Post” double-overtime win over the Baltimore Colts, who moved to Indianapolis in 1984, in 1996.