Ravens vs. Commanders final: MVP, 10 Winners and 4 Losers

The MVP, Winners and Losers from Week 6 vs. Washington Commanders

The Ravens keep rolling as they soundly defeat the Washington Commanders 30-23 and are now on a four-game win streak. The offense carved through the Commanders defense in another balanced fashion while the defense held on against one of the best in the NFL. Here are Sunday’s Winners and Losers.

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MVP: Coaching

No poor decisions. No gaffs. Smart usage of timeouts. Good play calling and persistent execution result in the Ravens never really letting the Commanders get back into the game. The game plan was effective, play calling never showed any failures and it was a methodical victory. Offensively, Todd Monken used what was working but blended in more playmakers all around. When Flowers was on fire, they went to him. They also incorporated Bateman, Andrews and ran with Henry both in the first half and allowed him to close. This was a methodical win without drama — at least other than the Commanders trying to start issue on the sideline with 1:05 remaining in the game.

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Winners

Zay Flowers: Against the Bengals last Sunday, Flowers set a career high in receiving yards with 111. It took him just the first half to exceed his career best against the Commanders, totaling 132 on nine catches. Flowers made repeated big plays, beginning with a 44-yard screen pass on the second play from scrimmage and helping move the ball downfield on the Raven’s final drive of the first half to put them up by a touchdown.

Lamar Jackson: Win on the ground. Win through the air. A cool 300+ yard passing game and another 40 rushing yards as Jackson surpassed Cam Newton for second-most rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history. Just another day at the office for the leading MVP candidate.

Rashod Bateman: Back-to-back catches in the first half bailed the offense out from its second-straight three-and-out, and he did it on 3rd & 5 with a 13-yard reception. Then, he ripped off another 23 yards to move them downfield on a drive ending with Henry’s touchdown run. Bateman finished the day with four receptions for 71 yards and looked sharp against the Commanders secondary.

Derrick Henry: Another quick jaunt into the end zone for Henry, the leading touchdown scorer in the NFL this season and becoming the first to start a season with a rushing touchdown in the first six games since the great LaDainian Tomlinson.

Mark Andrews: After his first target deflected off his hands and into a defender’s, more tension from fans could be felt in the air as his slow season marched on. That all melted away when he hauled in his first touchdown of the season with 53 seconds left in the first half. Andrews is now in a tie for most receiving touchdowns in franchise history with Todd Heap (41).

Travis Jones: He’s helped all season create lanes and eat up blockers for the edge rushers to have their fun and get the gaudy numbers. But against the Commanders, he came through with a big-time sack in the red zone on 3rd-and-7 to force a field goal.

Nate Wiggins: Good physical play running up and making hits on short throws from Daniels to the flats and also hung with receivers on the outside. He didn’t give up any big plays of note in the first half. He also delivered

Justin Tucker: Just an easy day at the office going 3-for-3 for field goals. And for the second-straight game, his opponent missed from 50+, which helps to prove it’s not easy to hit from 50+.

Yannick Ngakoue: His second elevation from the practice squad and he gets to Jayden Daniels in the fourth quarter. Ravens may have a tough decision in two weeks on whether to sign him to the active roster or not.

Ben Cleveland: He blocked a field goal? Who knew his biggest block would be on defense this season?

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Losers

Marcus Williams: Got lost on the Terry McLaurin touchdown in the first half. Not meeting tacklers head on but grabbing them after they get to him and hoping to pull them down instead. He is healthy but hasn’t resembled the playmaker he was for the Ravens to make him a blue-chip free agent signing years ago.

Brandon Stephens: This isn’t for his play, which was good. I have Stephens here because McLaurin just did things that were throw-your-hands-up frustrating. Stephens stuck hip-to-hip with McLaurin in the end zone and got his arm both between the receivers arms and chest and yet, he came away with six. Perfect passes and perfect catches beat perfect coverage, and I’m not sure Stephens could have done much more in this one.

Drama: There wasn’t any. The Ravens really entered the fourth quarter with a 14-point lead and it was never in danger. This was a welcome sight.

Hip-Drop Tackle: Dante Fowler Jr. was inches away from becoming the NFL’s first player penalized for the hip-drop tackle. Fortunately, Jackson’s legs weren’t landed on with Fowler’s bodyweight in what is some of the ugliest tackling form on the gridiron. No, it did not have all the elements of a hip-drop tackle that would constitute a flag, but it sure was close against one of the NFL’s unappreciated stars. Jackson continues to not get the calls.