Biggest risers and fallers from the Ravens 30-23 win against Washington
The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Washington Commanders 30-23 in a relatively comfortable victory. Although the Commanders stuck around until the 4th quarter, the Washington defense was simply no match for a Ravens offense that is the best in the NFL in a number of metrics. Conversely, the defense shut down the Washington rushing attack and kept rookie sensation Jayden Daniels and the Commanders offense one-dimensional. Let’s look at some of the key risers and fallers after the Ravens fourth consecutive win.
Stock up
Zay Flowers, WR
Wide receiver Zay Flowers torched a putrid Washington defense in the first half. He racked up 9 catches for 132 yards and looked unguardable vs. the Commander’s young secondary. Per PPF, Flowers had the second highest WR grade of the week behind Eagles A.J. Brown (90.2). Flowers is starting to establish himself as a true no.1 wide receiver, a welcomed sight for a team that has struggled to find and develop talent at the position.
Todd Monken, OC
Todd Monken seems to have all the answers right now. It’s pretty clear the Ravens are a top offense in the NFL, and a large part of that has been Monken’s play-calling. Through the first two weeks, the Derrick Henry experiment looked a little awkward. The team was failing to mesh the offense together, as it often seemed obvious when Henry would get the ball based on the personnel and formation. Since their loss to the Raiders, the duo of Lamar Jackson and Henry has been unguardable. It has truly been a pick your poison situation as teams have been torched on the ground and through the air over the last four weeks. The play-action passing attack has looked unstoppable as Monken and the Ravens continue to dictate how defenses play them. Monken’s arrow is flashing up and is already drawing head coaching rumors for 2025.
Lamar Jackson, QB
A third MVP appears to be looming for Lamar Jackson who has been superb to start the season. He’s thrown for over 300 yards in consecutive weeks and is in complete command of the offense, changing plays at the line of scrimmage, keeping the ball out of harm’s way, and making weekly highlight plays that leave our jaws on the floor. Things look incredibly easy for the Ravens star quarterback who is currently on pace for a ridiculous 4,200/1,200 passing/rushing split.
Derrick Henry, RB
Henry continues to be a revelation for the Ravens. Everyone had a vision of how dominant a Jackson and Henry backfield could be and while these things typically look good on paper, they sometimes don’t translate perfectly to the field. In Baltimore’s case, they truly look like a video game offense. Henry is now on pace for nearly 2,000 yards and 22 touchdowns and has become the “closer” Ravens fans hoped for before the season. The choice has become pretty black and white for defenses: allow Henry to run wild or let Lamar Jackson pick you apart through the air.
Run defense
While the Ravens pass defense has been primary area of negative discourse for the team, the complete opposite is true for their run defense. The Ravens have stifled opponents on the ground all year, a theme that continued on Sunday vs. Washington’s second ranked rushing attack. The lack of success teams are having on the ground are forcing them into a pass heavy script, which is part of the reason the team has given up big passing numbers. The Ravens have always taken great pride in their ability to shut down the run and the 2024 unit looks like one of the best units in team history at it.
Travis Jones
Jones has been a monster in the interior of the Ravens defense this year. Still one of the more underrated players in the league, Jones looks like a mini-Dexter Lawrence, consuming run blocks with his massive size while also showing a refined pass rush arsenal that has given opposing offenses issues. The combination of Jones and Nnandi Madubuike has been one of the better one two punches on the interior of NFL defenses and will continue to shut-down opposing run games for the foreseeable future.
Mark Andrews
Andrews seems to have found his groove after a shockingly uninvolved start to the year. For the first time since October of last year, Andrews found the end-zone and has now gone over 50 yards in back-to-back games. The resurgence of Andrews would be just another headache opposing defenses would have to deal with as they contend with the rest of the Ravens no.1 offense.
Stock down
Pass defense
The Ravens just can’t find a consistent formula to defend the passing game. Their inability to find success in that area is pretty surprising for a number of reasons. 1. The unit is largely the same as the one that set historic pass defense numbers in 2023. 2. The Ravens drafted a first-round corner in Nate Wiggins whose addition seemed unnecessary given the existing talent already in the secondary. 3. The Raven’s run defense has been so good that teams are becoming one-dimensional against them. Shockingly, most of the Raven’s issues have come in obvious passing situations. Simply put, this group is too talented to be surrendering gaudy numbers week in and week out. If the Ravens can become even an average pass defense, they would become the clear favorite to come out of the AFC.