Baltimore Beatdown Staff Reactions to the Ravens’ victory over the Washington Commanders
The Game of the Year talk was overhyped for the meetup between the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders. Especially considering the Ravens were already in the Game of the Year last week against the Cincinnati Bengals. But all the same, the Ravens defeated the Commanders and are on a four-game win streak after winning at home, 30-23. Here are the Beatdown staff’s initial reactions to the game.
The stat that tells you all you need to know is in all six games this season, the Ravens offense has produced 150 yards and one touchdown both on the ground and through the air. Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken has managed to to find strike balance with the run game led by Derrick Henry, who deserves 20-plus carries while also feeding talented pass-catchers AND involving Lamar Jackson’s one-of-a-kind playmaking.
Also, that was a double-digit fourth quarter lead they had and never were in danger of relinquishing. Felt like a Sunday afternoon stroll of a game. Ravens are now 4-2 on the season and remain in the lead of the AFC North. — Kyle Phoenix
The Ravens dictated the tone and identity of this matchup early, getting out ahead in the first half and keeping the Commanders at a distance throughout the game. Washington came out with a solid plan of attack to stymie Baltimore’s run game early, but a switch to more outside runs and a devastating play action attack from Lamar Jackson kept the offense moving throughout the game. He consistently found Flowers in the first half, and when the Commanders scrambled to adjust, he started to hit Rashod Bateman and Mark Andrews for chunk gains through the air. On defense, the Ravens continued to be porous against the pass, but clamped down on a Commanders’ ground game that entered the game with the second-best rushing offense in the league. Jayden Daniels deserves plenty of credit for staying in rhythm and trusting his playmakers, but Zach Orr deserves even more credit for a varied, effective game-plan that contained the rookie QB on designed runs and scrambles. This Ravens team knows exactly who they are – a dynamic, explosive offense with a bend-but-don’t-break defense – and when they can impose that identity on opposing teams, Baltimore tends to run wild. — Nikhil Mehta
The Ravens continued to prove that they are the most dangerous team in the league with an offense that can be balanced, methodical and explosive led by another stellar outing from the reigning MVP and rightful frontrunner, Lamar Jackson. Derrick Henry continues to be better than advertised with how he consistently produces at a high level and helps the Ravens close out games when they need to hold onto late leads. A week after they gave up 38 points, the defense is trending in the right direction after holding the NFL’s top-scoring offense which was averaging 31 points coming into the game to their third-lowest total of the season with just 23 given up. While they didn’t completely neutralize Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner Jayden Daniels, they kept the rookie quarterback in check for the most part and didn’t let him take over the game or turn it into a shootout. The Ravens were in firm control of this game from start to finish even after their promising opening drive ended in an interception because the Commanders defense had no answers for what Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Monken were cooking whether it was heavy doses of Zay Flowers who had a career outing in the first half or Henry in the second as he recorded yet another 100-plus yard and two-touchdown game. After notching their fourth straight win in commanding fashion–pun fully intended–there is no question who the best team in the NFL is even if they aren’t undefeated. — Joshua Reed
The game went about how I expected. The game thankfully stayed undramatic in the 4th quarter despite a 10-point Ravens lead. The offenses for both teams stayed busy, both Lamar Jackson and Jayden Daniels looked awesome. The Ravens defense wasn’t great but forced just enough stops to keep the Ravens ahead most of the game. Without Brian Robinson, the Ravens bottled Daniels and the run game well, only allowing 52 yards. The Ravens continued it run of dominance, scoring 30 points with Jackson throwing for over 300 yards, Derrick Henry running for 132 yards, and Zay Flowers also going for 132 yards. It was a pretty normal day of Ravens football for once. If Zach Orr and the defense can tighten things up, they’re a very clear Super Bowl level team. — Zach Canter
A relatively ho-hum victory for the Ravens who have now won four straight games to improve to 4-2. The game played out almost exactly as expected. The Ravens offense couldn’t be stopped while their pass defense struggled to bottle up quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Commanders. Lamar Jackson diced up a Commanders defense who seemed to deploy a similar game plan to the one we saw from Cincinnati last week. Despite selling out against the run, the Ravens still managed to rack up over 150 yards on the ground aund ended the game with nearly 500 yards of total offense. Baltimore’s offense has clearly found its groove and is the best in the NFL. On defense, the Ravens run defense is also the best in the league, holding the Commanders second ranked rushing attack to just 52 yards. Baltimore looks like they’re a competent pass defense away from being a serious Super Bowl contender. — Stephen Bopst