The Ravens beat the Washington Football Team 31-17, in Week 4. RSR staff react to the win here.
Derek Arnold
Much like Week 2 in Houston, a workmanlike win, but not the dominant beating many of us were expecting. The Ravens still struggle to get pressure with four on defense, and leave themselves very vulnerable with their blitzes. The book seems to be out on Wink, especially on 3rd and long – it’s one thing to get gashed by screens by a team like the Chiefs…but by this squad? Unacceptable.
On offense, the team still seems to want to be more of a passing team, and they also appear more interested in showing off their three-headed monster than in letting any RB get into a rhythm. Still, we need to remember that they were missing Ronnie Stanley today, and as a result Orlando Brown Jr. was playing on the other side of the line. We started to see them impose their will a bit in the fourth quarter, until an ill-advised “tricky” play lost them 10 yards and ended up forcing a Justin Tucker FG attempt.
We’ll take this win and move ahead, in a division where every other team won (or had an unexpected bye) this week.
Aidan Griesser
— Yes, the Ravens are 3-1 and easily rolled to victory over Washington, but they also have an issue with their identity. This team is a ground-and-pound one, not an air raid one. They seem completely set on proving that they can beat you through the air, but in doing so sabotage a number of drives. They need to get better there.
— Matt Judon finally showed up and put together a strong performance. An added sack by Jaylon Ferguson was nice, too.
— The Ravens missed Derek Wolfe more than I’d anticipated today, but it wasn’t enough to put this game in doubt. Gibson did have a solid day out.
— No matter how much the Ravens have spent in draft capital at WR, I really feel they still need a number one outside guy that Lamar can target. They’re lacking someone opposite Hollywood right now.
Carey Stevenson
The Super Bowl aspirations make solid victories like this harder to enjoy or put into proper context. As much as we’d like to see the Ravens steamroll lesser opponents and show growth in their inefficiencies, we have to realize this is only game 4 of an unprecedented season to prepare for.
They are 3-1 and haven’t played near their best football yet. I’ll try to keep the proper prospective…we all should.
We’ll have more knee-jerk reactions as they roll in…
