The Washington Commanders never contained the Baltimore Ravens offense, losing Sunday’s game 30-23. The Commanders entered Sunday’s game 4-1, looking to add to that by winning against the league’s top team. The Ravens, who started the season 0-2, showed those weeks were behind them. They had one job: Stop Baltimore’s running back Derrick Henry, and that didn’t happen. Henry finished Sunday’s game with 214 carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw for 323 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels threw for 269 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Running back Austin Eckler, who was in for the injured Brian Robinson Jr., had nine carries for 21 yards. Tight end Zach Ertz caught four for 68 yards. Daniels entered this game with a national fever pitch, facing the top team in the league. Ravens quarterback Jackson came into this game 21-1 against the NFC and added to that record today. With a victory, it was a game that would have put Daniels further into the league MVP conversations. Baltimore ensured that would not be the case and dominated on all fronts.
Commanders Lose Control of Game Tempo
In what was billed as the “Battle of The Beltway,” the Commanders shut down the Ravens’ first drive of the game with an interception. In the shotgun, Baltimore quarterback Jackson threw a pass intended for tight end Mark Andrews but was intercepted by cornerback Mike Sainristil. Sanristil returned the interception for 38 yards, his first. The interception set up a 42-yard field goal from Austin Seibert.
The Commanders lead the league with no-huddle plays at 163, so they worked hard to crack the defensive code of the Ravens in the first half with that pace. However, they never slowed Baltimore’s offense, which scored first, thanks to a pass interference call on Washington cornerback Benjamen St-Juste, which put the Ravens at the Commanders’ three-yard line.
Commanders Never Caught Up with Ravens
The Commanders were at the mercy of the Ravens’ offense and defense in the first half. They only had 145 total yards to Baltimore’s 248 total yards. They converted on third down only three times and allowed the Ravens to convert on third down four out of six attempts. Washington only had nine first downs in the first half, while the Ravens had 16.
The penalties were even worse. The Commanders committed three that cost 21 yards. They also lost the time-of-possession battle (11:42), with the Ravens in control seven minutes more in the first half and keeping possession for 18 minutes. Washington played keep-up ball all four quarters and never caught up. Overall, they had six penalties for a loss of 46 yards.
Commanders Fight, Close Strong
Late in the third quarter, the Ravens put together a drive that went eight plays 94 yards, including a 38-yard pass to Andrews from Jackson, making the score 23-17. Washington did not quit, taking fourth-down chances when needed and finally scoring a clutch field goal with 2:48 in the fourth quarter. They brought the game within seven, but that was it. They lost the battle against time, which cost them the game.
The Ravens dominated first downs, third-down conversions, total yards, and yards per play. One area that told the story of Sunday’s loss was the time of possession. Baltimore controlled the clock for 36 minutes, while the Commanders only had the ball for 23.
“It’s the NFL, and these are the games we’ll come down to…One-score games, close games, and we gotta figure out how to pull those out.” Daniels said to the media after Sunday’s loss. “We right there. We’re never gonna give up. We’re competing and fighting, and [we’ll] move on to the next.”
Final Thoughts
The Commanders stood tall against the league’s best team and fell short. This was a good learning experience for Daniels. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back in Week 7. The team has no reason to be ashamed of their performance, but changes are needed to shore up the Secondary. St-Juste was exposed all game, and it cost. This was a good game, and it was fun to enter a game excited with one loss instead of fighting to get past the .500 mark.
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