Ravens Command the Commanders

Ravens 30, Commanders 23

The Ravens won their fourth consecutive game, this time over the Commanders at The Bank by the score of 30-23 to advance to (4-2) on the season. The outcome never really seemed to be in doubt but the presence of ghosts from blown fourth quarter leads of the past certainly made their presence felt. But the Ravens once again, called on their closer Derrick Henry to take the air out of the football and suck any hope out of the Commanders’ souls.

The win keeps the Ravens tied with the Steelers for the lead in the AFC North who beat the hapless Raiders by the score of 32-13. Next week the Ravens travel to Tampa to take on Baker Mayfield and the Bucs on Monday Night Football while Pittsburgh hosts the Jets on Sunday Night Football. The Browns and Bengals go head-to-head on Sunday in Cleveland where DeShaun Watson will get the start again, looking to snap a string of 26 consecutive failed 3rd-down conversion attempts. Imagine your franchise shelling out $230M for that mess! He’s won 9 games as a Browns starter. He’s much better at settling civil lawsuits with massage therapists. Of the 27 suits, he has settled 25. Nice job DW.

But back to Sunday’s game…

Heading into the contest at The Bank, many were unsure of the Commanders. Was their impressive (4-1) record the result of some favorable scheduling? Teams not yet taking them seriously enough or some combination thereof? Or are they a legit team in the process of an organizational rebirth?

Judging from Sunday’s game, the Commanders passed the eyeball test. They have some solid playmakers, play fast, compete to the whistle and most importantly, rookie QB Jayden Daniels is the real deal. He’s going to be special.

As for the Ravens, they look like a team shaping their identity and one that is heading towards a deep postseason run. They aren’t quite as good as they can be yet, especially on defense where they remain vulnerable to the pass, particularly in the middle of the field beneath the safeties’ drops and behind those of the linebackers. But winning while improving can’t be understated and that’s exactly where the Ravens find themselves after six weeks.

THE GOOD

Offense

Lamar Jackson really has command of the Ravens offense. He looks calm in the pocket; ball skills are on point; he’s using his eyes to move DB’s to get the desired looks; he distributed the ball extremely well, and of course, his legs can break the spirits and ankles of opposing defenders who think they have him contained. Usually, they don’t. Lamar threw for 323 yards, ran for another 40 and his passer rating was a crisp 114.7. Lamar led the Ravens on two touchdown drives of 90+ yards. That’s mastering the offense. His only blemish throwing was on the first possession when he led Mark Andrews a tad too much leading to a tipped ball and a pick. He also seemed hesitant at times to take off and run and one of the two sacks the Commanders registered were on him for dropping back way too far, destroying the blocking angles of his tackles…Justice Hill had just two touches for four yards but his blocking in pass pro was outstanding…ditto for Pat Ricard who did some heavy excavation for his backfield mate…Isaiah Likely had two catches for 27 yards including a key first down for 18 yards but on this day, he stood out more for his blocking…Mark Andrews got in the mix with 3 catches for 66 yards topped off by his first TD of the season.

Zay Flowers with an early 46-yard gain!

📺: #WASvsBAL on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/taeWQ7ZzwF

— NFL (@NFL) October 13, 2024

Zay Flowers was unstoppable in the first half collecting 9 balls on 9 targets for 132 yards…Rashod Bateman chipped in with 4 catches for 71 yards…Nelson Agholor collected a pass from Lamar for a big 25-yard gain.

The Achilles Heel of the Ravens offense during their first two games was the offensive line. But over the course of the past few games, they seem to be shaping up quite nicely. Patrick Mekari is doing a solid job at LG and Roger Rosengarten appears to be on the fast track to becoming a very competent RT. Tyler Linderbaum was outstanding (save for one miscue). Ronnie Stanley is reborn at LT. He’s playing with passion and precision. He’s also playing for his next contract and that’s not a bad thing for him or the Ravens. He’s a free agent after the 2024 season.

You’ve heard the saying, “you’re only as good as your weakest link.” And across the Ravens offensive front, that weakest link has been Daniel Faalele. But to his credit, he’s put in the work; he’s cleaned up his technique; and over the course of the past 3 weeks, he’s been a very serviceable RG, much to my surprise. He was largely responsible for Henry waltzing into the end zone for his second TD.

Alright 77.

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHTTTTTTTT

I see you big Danny! #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/2hR3y5ghw3

— Cole Jackson (@ColeJacksonFB) October 14, 2024

Defense

Travis Jones is blossoming into a star. He had 4 tackles, 2 tackles for losses and a sack that was largely set up by Kyle Van Noy’s disciplined rush containment…Sidekicks Nnamdi Madubuike (2 tackles, QB hit) and Michael Pierce (4 tackles, QB hit) also chipped in with a ½ sack each. The three were largely responsible for bottling up the Commanders run game which was held to 52 yards on 18 carries (2.9 YPC) …Yannick Ngakoue had a sack and another QB hit. He also did a decent job during limited opportunities of holding the edge on running plays…As a unit the D-line (edge rushers included) did a great job of keeping Daniels in the pocket with little space to escape and use his legs to trigger damage. Patience, discipline and embracing the game plan were in play today for the Ravens.

Kyle Hamilton was a force early in the game. He made a terrific play to stop Terry McLaurin for no gain on a pass to the right flat and then followed that up with a pressure forcing Daniels to throw it away. He’s also the only player with safety next to his name who doesn’t seem to mind hitting an opponent…Nate Wiggins and Brandon Stephens were both sticky in coverage, Wiggins at times a tad too much, but you must admire his aggressive style of play. He’s not far off. Stephens gave up the second TD to McLaurin, but the ball was perfectly placed and the receiver made a great catch. Not much more that he could have done.

Ed Reed type stuff pic.twitter.com/CCSMUCtOYP

— 𝙕𝙖𝙘𝙝🦦® (@NewEraZach) October 13, 2024

Special Teams

Justin Tucker was 3 for 3 on FGA’s; Jordan Stout’s only punt was for 50 yards; and big Ben Cleveland got his meaty paw on a Commanders’ FGA. It is K Austin Seibert’s only miss on the season.

[Related Article: Ravens Report Card]

THE BAD

Offense

Tough to find anything wrong with an offensive performance when your offense has 28 first downs, goes 6 of 10 on third down, posts 484 yards of total offense and controlled the clock for 36:08. That said, there was one blemish, and it was nearly costly. Facing a 3rd-and-7 at the Commanders 23, from the jump, the snap slipped out of Linderbaum’s hand and wormed around on the turf like an eel until Linderbaum recovered and pounced on it.

Defense

The Ravens are apparently not built to cover tight ends. The 33-year-old Zach Ertz seemed to find a fountain of youth along with gaping holes in the Ravens secondary, in part because the Ravens inside backers can’t keep up in coverage and their safeties apparently like the view from “their front lawn” 40 yards off the line of scrimmage. Ertz caught 4 balls for 68 yards.

Special Teams

Pick the specialty, punt return, kick return, punt coverage or kick coverage, the Commanders owned the Ravens. Washington’s average start on their 9 possessions was their own 35-yard line and their worst starting spot was the 30. The Ravens average starting point was their own 22 on their 9 possessions, once from the 6 and another start from the 7. The Commanders clearly demonstrated an ability to kick to the one-yard line or nearby, forcing the Ravens to return it. The best they could manage on a return was the 34-yard line. It’s as if the Ravens and their special teams brain trust hasn’t figured out the geometry of these new kick return rules…Deonte Harty has been a big disappointment as a return specialist. He isn’t built for kick returns given the tricked-up rules and on punt returns, he lacks a burst. His only PR was for 4 yards. If the Ravens are in a pinch for a roster spot, Harty’s might look appealing.

THE UGLY

Not much to complain about other than the play of the Ravens’ safeties. There’s been some talk about the Ravens making a play for Davante Adams. GM Eric DeCosta should be focused on ways to fix the back end of their defense. Marcus Williams should swap numbers with Roquan Smith because the guy is a big nothing-burger, and he’s paid to be a Tomahawk Steak…Ar’Darius Washington’s dropped interception was an absolute clunker.

COACHING

Todd Monken

The Ravens OC had a great game v. the Commanders. He used the Commanders attention directed at Derrick Henry and Lamar as a runner against them and shredded the Washington secondary with intermediate targets. He managed to get the team’s tight ends in isolation on linebackers and took advantage of man coverage with Zay Flowers who had 9 catches and 132 yards in the first half. At half, the Commanders adjusted to clamp down on Flowers and recognizing that, Monken went to the whip with Henry who had 94 of his 132 rushing yards in the second half.

Todd’s message to Washington – pick your poison. Nice to see the Ravens get Andrews back in the offensive flow. Simply put, Monken was a step ahead all day.

BIG PLAY @Mandrews_81 ❗❗

Tune in on CBS pic.twitter.com/UkMFzknpDX

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 13, 2024

Zach Orr

The Commanders entered the game averaging 393 yards of offense, tied for 4th in the league. Against the Ravens they managed 305 yards. The Ravens controlled the LOS but gave up space in the intermediate middle of the field that would rival the size of Lake Montebello.

John Harbaugh

The Ravens played the game to win. They didn’t throw caution to the wind, but they also weren’t conservative when trying to close out the game. And that approach comes from the skipper. He ordered the code burgundy red.

You’re GD right he did!

The Paige Spiranac Award

Some wondered whether there was anything left in the tank for Derrick Henry. After all, he is a 30 year old running back and as is the norm for RB’s that long in the tooth, they hit the career wall, and their productivity drops off a cliff. The King is anything but normal.

While his output was good, it wasn’t his most eye-popping effort to date. But his presence alone opens the field for everyone else. Utilizing Henry in the play action passing attack allows Monken to distribute to the likes of Flowers, Bateman, Andrews and Likely. He looks like that missing ingredient in the Ravens offense and pairing him with Lamar is just a lot to ask of a defense. It was a big win for the Ravens and The King was without question, the pivot point. Derrick had 24 carries for 132 yards (5.5 YPC) and 2 TD’s pushing his season totals to: 704 yards (5.9 YPC) and 8 TD’s. It’s early but that projects to 1,995 yards and 23 TD’s over the course of a 17-game season.

We’re on to Tampa…