Week 6 Recap – Washington Commanders at Baltimore Ravens

Washington Loses for First Time Since Week 1 30-23 to the Ravens

October 14, 2024

By Noonefromtampa

First Quarter

Washington won the coin toss and deferred until the second half. The opening kickoff was returned 34 yards by Justice Hill. After stopping Derrick Henry for modest two yard gain, Lamar Jackson hit Zay Flowers in the flat, who then it 44 yards to the Washington 20 yard line. Henry ran again and was stopped for no gain. Jackson then threw to tight end Mark Andrews, but the ball bounced off his hand right into Mike Sainristil, who intercepted it and returned it 38 yards.

Austin Ekeler ran for 5 yards on first down and Noah Brown caught a short 3 yard pass on second down. Jayden Daniels then found a wide open Ekeler on third down who caught a pass and took it 24 yards down to the Ravens 16. The drive stalled out there with Daniels losing 11 yards on a third down sack. Austin Seibert nailed a 42 yard field goal to give Washington a 3-0 lead.

After the ensuing kickoff, Baltimore was able to steadily move the ball down the field mixing runs and passes. Flowers caught passes for 12 and 9 yards while Jackson ran for 10 yards. The drive stalled at Washington’s 23 yard line, where a third down fumble lost 4 yards and Justin Tucker was forced to kick a 45 yard field goal tying the game.

Washington’s next possession failed to gain any yards, and they went three and out, with Tress Way coming on to punt the ball away.

Baltimore’s next drive started at their own 20. Jackson threw another screen to Flowers, but Percy Butler tackled him for no gain. After stopping Henery for a 1 yard gain, Dante Fowler sacked Jackson for an 11 yard loss, making the Ravens punt the ball away.

Olamide Zaccheaus returned the punt 10 yards to put the ball at the 50 yard line.

Second Quarter

Ekeler gained 6 yards on first but lost 1 yard on second down. Daniels scrambled 6 yards for the first down on the next play. Ekeler lost 1 yard on a screen pass and Zaccheaus dropped a sure first down catch, putting Washington into a third and 11 situation. Daniels made a nice deep throw to Terry McLaurin who was in single coverage, but Brandon Stephens was able to break it up. Way pinned the Ravens at their own seven thanks ot Mykal Walker, who was able to down the ball.

With a third and 5, Jackson hit Rashod Bateman for 13 yards and then followed it up 23 yard pass to Bateman. Henry ran for 15 yards up the middle of the defense before being stopped by Butler. Flowers had a 23 yard reception. Three plays later, on third down, Benjamin St-Juste was called for defensive pass interference putting the ball on the Washington 3 yard line. Henry ran it in on the next play and the extra point was good, putting the Ravens up 10-3.

Washington’s offense found its groove on the next possession. Daniels hit Noah Brown for 15 yards to start the drive. McLaurin made a tough catch on third down to extend the drive. Kliff Kingsbury the dialed up a flea-flicker screen to Ekeler who gained 25 yards. Dyami Brown took a bubble screen for 11 yards to the Ravens 7 yard line. Luke McCaffrey caught a 5 yard pass at the two. Andrew Wylie was called for a false start, but Daniels found McLaurin in the back of the end for the touchdown on the next play. Seibert converted the extra point to tie the game.

After the kickoff, Flowers caught a 10 yard pass from Jackson to start the drive. Other big plays on the drive were a 13 yard pass to Flower and a 25 yard pass to Nelson Agholor. Flowers also caught a 15 yard pass on third down to put the ball at the Washington 15-yard line. Three plays later on third and eight, Jackson found Andrews wide open in the end zone for the 13 yard touchdown. Tucker converted the extra point to give Baltimore a 17-10 lead.

With less than a minute to play in the half, Daniels scrambled for 9 yards up the middle. He then hit Noah Brown for 11 yards to put the ball at the fifty. Zaccheaus then caught consecutive passes for 11 yards and 6 yards to put Washington into field goal range. Unfortunately, the kick may have been tipped by the Ravens, and it was no good.

Third Quarter

After a touchback, Washington started the second half with a short drive with only two plays that gain positive yardage. Daniels hit Noah Brown for 25 yards and Ekeler ran for 5 yards to the Ravens 37 yard line. The drive stalled there, and Seibert hit a 55 yard field goal to make the score 17-13.

After Henry ran twice for 8 yards, on third and short, Jackson picked up 33 yards on a designed run around the right end. Jackson then threw to Isaiah Likely for 18 yards. The drive ended with a 2 yard run by Flowers, a sack by Fowler and an incompletion. Tucker made a 32 yard field goal to push the lead to 20-13.

Ekeler returned the kickoff 32 yards to the Washington 31 yard line. Zach Ertz caught a 21 yard pass from Daniels. Jeremy McNichols ran for 4 yards, but two straight incompletions forced another Way punt, which was downed at the Ravens six yard line.

Baltimore went on another long scoring drive. The chunk plays on the drive were a 12 yard run by Henry, a 15 yard and 38 yard receptions by Andrews, plus another pass interference call on St-Juste for 10 yards. Once the ball was on the Washington 12 yard line, it only took two Henry rushes to score the touchdown. Tucker made the extra point giving Baltimore a 27-13 lead.

After the touchback, Ekeler ran for 3 yards and Ertz caught an 11 yard pass to start the drive. McNichols ran for 5 yards over right guard and then Ertz caught a 24 yard pass.

Fourth Quarter

After changing end, McLaurin caught a 14 yard pass and two plays later Ertz caught 12 yard pass down the one yard line. After an illegal formation penalty and two incompletions, on fourth down Daniels threw a perfect pass to a diving McLaurin for the touchdown. Seibert barely made the extra point, cutting the lead to 27-20.

The Ravens started at their own 22 after the return. Henry ran twice for 13 yards. Bateman caught a Jackson pass for 17 yards and two plays later caught another for 18 yards. After Henry ran for 4 yards, Clelin Ferrel tackled Jackson for a 5 yard loss. Likely cam up short on his third down catch and Tucker converted a 39 yard field goal to make the lean 30-20.

Washington’s drive started with a 14 yard completion to McLaurin. It quickly went sideways with a sack of Daniels and holding call on Wylie. They were saved on fourth down with a 23 yard pass interference call on Nate Wiggins against Noah Brown. After losing two yards on a sack, the Commanders only gained back 7, to force a 49 yard field goal by Seibert making the score 30-23, with 2:52 to play.

On Baltimore’s next and final drive, Washington’s defense could not stop Henry and Jackson running allowing them to pick up 40 yards before running out the clock.

Thoughts

The defense is the biggest weakness on the team. The secondary struggles to cover receivers no matter what the coverage scheme they are in. Safeties are frequently out of position and cornerbacks cannot stick with the opposing players, especially on rub routes. The front seven failed to plug gaps allowing long runs.

The offense looked decent against a strong Ravens defense which was determined to prevent any significant runs by Daniels. Wylie again committed several penalties working on sealing his fate this offseason.

The team missed Brian Robinson in the red zone. His hard running style was needed against the Ravens. The Ravens were expecting runs by Daniels in the red zone and were very effective in stopping them.

The team played hard in the game and came back. Last year this would have been a blowout in the fourth quarter. Dan Quinn has these guys playing but needs more blue-chip players, especially on defense.

The good news is the team is still 4-2 at this point in the season, which few people anticipated.