MIKE BURKE
Allegany Communications Sports
The Baltimore Ravens’ 30-23 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday went just about the way we felt it would go, not to mention Las Vegas, who said Ravens by 7 with an over of 51.5.
No, nothing to see here, right?
The game was played on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Baltimore before an enthusiastic sellout crowd with the Commanders fans, while no Pittsburgh invasion of Las Vegas, making a strong representation for themselves.
When Maryland’s two NFL teams meet, as we covered last week ad nauseam, it always brings juice for the fans of both teams, particularly when both teams are pretty good, which both the Ravens and the Commanders clearly are.
This year’s four-year renewal carried a little extra juice because of Washington’s rookie sensation quarterback, Jayden Daniels, who turned in another poised and effective performance in just the sixth game of his professional career. Even the most stubborn Ravens fan had to walk away from Sunday’s game admitting that Washington has great reason to be excited about what Daniels’ future is going to bring.
Still, while it was anything but a blowout, the Ravens were in control of the game from the beginning, masterfully using their offense as their best defense against what was the NFL’s highest-scoring offense.
The Ravens put together scoring drives of 93 and 94 yards and scored on five consecutive possessions, dominating time of possession by 10 minutes. When the Commanders, who fought and clawed for the entire game, brought the score to within 27-20 in the fourth quarter, the Ravens sealed the outcome with a nine-play, 57-yard scoring drive that took 5:54 off the clock.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was superb, as a two-time NFL MVP is expected to be, spreading the ball around to six different receivers, including to Zay Flowers, who played his best game with 132 yards, Rashod Bateman and tight end Mark Andrews. Jackson also moved into second place all-time for most career rushing yards for a quarterback, passing Cam Newton.
Meanwhile, running back Derrick Henry once again proved himself to be the best closer in the game, rushing for 132 yards and two touchdowns and effectively killing the clock in the fourth quarter.
When Henry, running out of the I-formation, is able to get on the edge behind 6-foot-3, 300-pound fullback Patrick Ricard, it’s lights out for any defensive back who is unfortunate enough to be in his path.
If it wasn’t clear before, it’s clear now why general manager Eric DeCosta has been so hungry to have Henry in purple for the past two-plus years. He is clearly what the Ravens lacked in last year’s AFC Championship Game, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Do the Ravens have the best and most unstoppable offense in the NFL? Again, we’re just six games into a 17-game season, and based on what we saw in Dallas on Sunday, the Detroit Lions might have a say about that as well. But the Ravens have beaten Dallas, Buffalo, Cincinnati and Washington, four pretty solid teams, in a row, and have essentially done so behind the great play of their offense,
The Ravens defense, which has been taking heat for most of the season, played its best game. They didn’t blitz very much against the Commanders, but they contained Daniels to 22 yards rushing, though were helpless on his two touchdown passes to Terry McLaurin, who made great catches on perfect throws by the rookie.
Offensively, the Commanders are going to be fine, particularly when running back Brian Robinson comes back from injury, but defensively they lack a pass rush and the secondary looks as suspect as Baltimore’s did last week in Cincinnati. We’d also be remiss not to mention that the Commanders played without defensive linemen Dorance Armstrong and Jonathan Allen, who, unfortunately, as it was announced on Monday, is out for the rest of the season with a torn left pectoral.
The Commanders at 4-2 have yet to beat a winning team, but that doesn’t really matter. They’ve beaten four out of the six teams they’ve had to play and that’s good enough for first place in an NFC East Division that looks as though it can be had.
The regional aspect of Baltimore vs. Washington – a 30-minute drive between the teams’ stadiums – matters more to the fans than it does to the players on the field. Still, both the players and the fans of both teams came away from Sunday’s game with much to be hopeful for.
Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @MikeBurkeMDT