Preview: 

Week Six featured a highly-anticipated matchup between the Washington Commanders and the Baltimore Ravens. Jayden Daniels and Lamar Jackson have been playing great and are big contributors in their team’s success. 

The Commanders have been the surprise team, posting a 4-1 record before the Ravens game. Their offense with Daniels at quarterback and Kliff Kingsbury as the offensive coordinator has helped the team tremendously. The defense under Dan Quinn as head coach has looked better and is getting the most out of the group. 

On the other side, the Ravens started 0-2 and won their last three before the Commanders game. The Raven’s defense hasn’t looked like the defense of previous years but has played better over the winning streak. Jackson and the offense continue to be one of the best in the league as the addition of Derrick Henry has only enhanced the run game. 

Key Stats: 

In this game, the Ravens beat the visiting Commanders 30-23 to improve to 4-2 on the season. The Ravens dominated time of possession (36:08) compared to the Commanders (23:52). The Ravens won the total yards battle 484 to Washington’s 305. Baltimore’s offense has been on fire to start the year, leading the league in total yards (2,722), 7th in passing yards (1,490), and 1st in rushing yards (1,232). Baltimore’s run game with Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson has been unstoppable this year and the Commanders couldn’t contain them. Henry had 132 of the 176 rushing yards against the Commanders, while Jackson completed 20/26 of his passes for 323 passing yards, throwing both a touchdown and an interception. Zay Flowers had a great day, leading the team with nine catches for 132 yards. 

Breakdown of the Game: 

One thing that the Ravens were able to do well against Daniels was keeping him in the pocket. Daniels has shown how explosive he can be with his legs and the Ravens held him to his fewest carries (6) of the season. Besides containing Daniels, the Ravens generated pressure with their front four. They hardly blitzed Daniels on dropbacks and created pressure against a Commander’s offensive line that’s ranked 16th in sacks allowed (15). 

Going into this game, the Commanders were one of the best at running the football. The Commanders have run the football well and have done it with a number of running backs. Their top running back this season, Brian Robinson Jr., didn’t play. Even with him out, they were going to have a hard time running the ball against the Ravens, who’ve allowed the 2nd fewest rushing yards this season (354) and the fewest rushing yards per carry (3). The Ravens shut down the run game for the Commanders, forcing them to rely on Daniels through the air. 

Although the Ravens defense played well, Daniels still had a good game. He completed 24/35 of his passes for 269 passing yards and threw two touchdowns. The Ravens are 31st in passing yards allowed (1,654) and Daniels was able to pass against them. He hardly made bad passes, with the exception being overthrowing Noah Brown on the run and having the interception-worthy pass dropped by Ar’Darius Washington. Besides that, Daniel connected with receivers under pressure and got the ball out quick. 

The Raven’s offensive game plan is no different than what their game plan has been during their winning streak. Play off of the run with Henry and let Jackson find his receivers. Flowers was the main target for Jackson through the air and Flowers continues to show how great he can be. Mark Andrews had his best game of the season and caught the lone passing touchdown. One thing to note is that the Ravens didn’t stall with the lead like they had with the Raiders and Cowboys. They were aggressive in their play-calling and did more than enough on offense to come out with the win. Whenever they were near the goal line, they continued to feed Henry. Both Jackson and the offense are at its best when the run game is thriving. Having Henry on the Ravens shapes this team as the best team during Jackson’s tenure with the team.