2024 REWIND: Week 6 – Commanders stumble in road game vs Ravens, fall to 4-2

Derrick Henry & Lamar Jackson lead Baltimore to 176 rushing yards and a pair of rushing TDs

The Commanders entered the Week 6 game against the Ravens with the top scoring offense in the NFL, a 4-game winning streak, and sole possession of first place in the NFC East. A win in the “Battle of the Beltway” would not only keep Washington in control of the division, but would add a quality win to the team’s resume — the first win of the young season over a team with a winning record.

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Ultimately, the Ravens would end up winning this game by 7 points, but the Commanders never had the lead in this football game beyond a first quarter field goal that gave them a 3-point lead. As an early-season test, it showed that the Commanders had some way to go before the team would be able to beat a quality playoff-bound squad, though, in the end, Washington had the better playoff performance, losing in the NFC title game to the eventual super bowl champion Eagles while the Ravens lost to Buffalo in the divisional round.

In this Week 5 game, King Henry flexed his muscles and showed that the Commanders would need to solve issues if the defense hoped to stop a quality rushing attack — an issue that plagued the defense all the way to the conference title game.

First Quarter

Ravens get the first bite at the apple
The Commanders won the toss and deferred, so the Ravens received the opening kickoff and started their first drive on the 34-yard line following a good 36-yard return.

The Washington defense started out by giving up a 44-yard catch and run to Zay Flowers on 2nd & 8. The Ravens were set up with a first down on the Washington 20-yard line.

Mikey Sainristil makes a huge play
On 2nd & 10, Commanders CB Mikey Sainristil grabbed the ball out of the air off of TE Mark Andrews’ fingertips for the team’s first interception of the season. He then returned the ball 38 yards to the Baltimore 49-yard line. The first big break of the game goes to the Commanders.

Commanders
Two plays later, on 3rd & 2, Daniels hit Austin Ekeler on a wheel route to the right, which the RB carried 25 yards to the Baltimore 16-yard line.

Two plays later, Washington faced 3rd & 7 at the 13-yard line. The Ravens defense came up with a huge play, with Travis Jones sacking Daniels for a loss of 11 yards. Austin Seibert came on the field to attempt the 42-yard field goal. He split the uprights to make the score 3-0 with just over 9 minutes remaining in the 1st quarter.

Ravens
Runs by Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson on the Ravens’ 2nd possession brought up 3rd & 1 at the 39-yard line. On the 3rd down play, Lamar Jackson kept the ball himself and ran for 10 yards to earn a fresh set of downs near midfield.

Zay Flowers and Derrick Henry combined to earn a pair of first downs before the Commanders were able to force 3rd & 7 at the 23-yard line. On the 3rd down play, the Ravens fumbled, but recovered the ball. Justin Tucker came on and booted a 45-yard field goal to tie the game with 03:45 left in the first half. The drive lasted 10 plays and covered 43 yards.

Commanders go 3 & out
Washington’s second offensive drive began at the 30-yard line following the touchback.

Two short passes that each gained no yards, followed by a 3rd down incompletion, were the result of good Ravens defense, and Tress Way came on for his 8th punt of the season.

Ravens also go 3 & out
The Ravens took over at their own 20-yard line with 02:20 left in the quarter following a minimal return. So far, aside from the interception, Baltimore has looked to be the better team on the field.

However, the Ravens earned just 1 yard on two plays, and faced 3rd & 9 at their own 21-yard line. Washington came up with a huge play; Dante Fowler broke through the blocking to sack Lamar Jackson for an 11-yard loss, forcing a 3 & out.

Commanders take over following the Fowler sack
Following a 10-yard return by Olamide Zaccheaus, Washington took over at the 50-yard line with just 2 seconds remaining in the quarter.

The 1st quarter came to an end with a 6-yard run by Austin Ekeler.

Second Quarter

The Commanders offense sputtered.

On the key 3rd down play that followed an injury timeout (Baltimore’s Nate Wiggins), Daniels was unable to complete a deep pass to Terry McLaurin. Tress Way’s punt was downed at the Baltimore 7-yard line with about 13 minutes left in the half.

Ravens score the game’s first touchdown
Washington was unable to stop the Ravens. Jackson hit his receiver Bateman on the left sideline for 13 yards. On the next play, Jackson moved up in the pocket and threw another strike to Bateman, this time in the middle of the field for 22 yards to the 47-yard line. Baltimore’s offense was on the move.

The next play saw Derrick Henry rumble right up the middle for 16 yards and the third 1st-down in as many plays.

The offensive explosion continued with a 14-yard pass completion against man coverage.

After another short gain, it was 3rd & 10 at Washington’s 14-yard line. On the key third down play, Jackson threw incomplete, but Benjamin St-Juste — stop me if you’ve heard this before — was flagged for pass interference, giving Baltimore fresh set of downs at the 3-yard line.

Derrick Henry ran to the right, untouched into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown. Following the PAT, the score was 10-3 with about 8 minutes remaining in the half. The Baltimore drive lasted 9 plays and covered 93 yards.

At this point, the Ravens had made 10 first-downs; Washington had 2. Baltimore had gained 165 total yards — 115 passing — while Washington had gained just 34 — 18 passing and 16 rushing. The only real equalizer in the game was the Sainristil interception.

Washington badly needed a scoring drive here.

Commanders respond with a TD of their own
Baltimore kicked a touchback, and the Commanders started the drive on their 30-yard line. The drive opened with a 15-yard completion to Noah Brown on first-down.

The offense managed just 4 yards on the next two plays, bringing up 3rd & 6 at the 49-yard line. Jayden Daniels dropped back and threw a laser strike to Terry McLaurin on the right sideline for 8 yards and a first down.

On the first down, the Commanders ran a flea-flicker that went to Austin Ekeler for 25 yards to the 18 yard line.

Before the Ravens’ defense could take a breath, Dyami Brown had a catch & run for 11 yards, setting up 1st & goal at the 7-yard line.

A pass to Luke McCaffrey got the ball to the 2 yard line, but a pre-snap penalty on Andrew Wylie on the following snap pushed the ball back to the 7 yard line. On the subsequent play, Daniels stood tall in the pocket behind good protection and hit Terry McLaurin in the back of the end zone for a key touchdown. With the PAT, the game was tied at 10-10 with 04:16 remaining in the half.

It had been an impressive reply by Washington’s offense — an 8-play drive that went 70 yards.

Washington’s good kickoff coverage stopped the Ravens returner at the 22-yard line.

Ravens put together another TD drive
The TV broadcast announced at this point that Washington DE Dorance Armstrong had been to the locker room to be checked, and appeared to return without his uniform.

In the meantime:

• a defensive holding penalty against Noah Igbinoghene gave the Ravens a first down at the 32-yard line.
• Igbinoghene was beaten by Zay Flowers for 13 yards and another first down.
• Another false start penalty (second in the drive) pushed the Ravens back 5 yards; it didn’t matter. Agholor caught another ball in the middle of the field (covered by Quan Martin) for 25 yards as the clock ticked down to the two-minute warning.

As play resumed after the time out, the Ravens were at the Commanders 36-yard line with a fresh set of downs.

• A few plays later, on 3rd down, Zay Flowers went 15 yards on a catch and run to the Washington 15-yare line.
• Two plays later, it was 3rd & 8 following an incomplete pass to Isaiah Likely in the end zone on second down.
• Another key 3rd down, another big play by Lamar Jackson found TE Mark Andrews in the end zone for the Ravens’ first passing touchdown of the game.

After the extra point, it was 17-10 with 53 seconds left in the half.

Based on what I’ve seen of the Commanders so far this season, I’m expecting the offense to be aggressive and try to put points on the board before the half ends. They will also get the ball to start the 2nd-half, holding out the hope of a double-dip on scoring.

Following the kickoff, the Commanders took over for their final drive of the half at the 30-yard line following another touchback.

Washington would have 53 seconds and one timeout available for their drive.

Frustration, as the half ends with a blocked field goal
Jayden Daniels opened the drive with a 9-yard scramble up the middle, followed by an 11-yard completion to Noah Brown on the right sideline.

Daniels then hit Zaccheaus on the right sideline for 11 yards. No. 14 was smart enough to get past the line to gain and then step out of bounds.

It was 1st & 10 at the 39 yard line, and Daniels, with less than 10 seconds on the clock, hit Zaccheaus for 5 yards to set up the field goal with 5 seconds left in the half.

Seibert’s attempt was partially blocked and ended up sailing wide left for no score, ending his perfect run as the Commanders kicker.

The two teams went to the locker room with Baltimore leading 17-10.

Halftime Stats

Statistics via ESPN

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Third Quarter

Commanders need a touchdown but score a field goal
The Commanders opened the second half with their 6th offensive drive of the game, badly in need of a touchdown to put the score back on even footing. Aside from one touchdown-scoring drive, nothing has looked easy for the Washington offense so far.

On 2nd down, Daniels dropped back and hit his longest completion of the game for 28 yards to Noah Brown.

Washington couldn’t move the ball on the next three plays, so out came Austin Seibert for another field goal attempt — this one from 55 yards following the earlier block on the 53-yard attempt. Seibert made his 14th and longest field goal of the year to pull his team within 4 points at 17-13 with 12:45 remaining in the 3rd quarter. The drive lasted 6 plays and covered 33 yards.

Ravens answer with a field goal of their own
Baltimore’s first drive of the second half began at the 30-yard line after the touchback.

On the 3rd play of the drive, Lamar Jackson took a designed run to the right for 33 yards, virtually untouched until he was tackled near the Washington 29-yard line.

On the next play, Jackson hit Likely for 18 yards and the drive was marching downfield virtually unopposed.

However, on 2nd & 8, Jackson was sacked by Dante Fowler again for a loss of 5 yards. This sack was forced by coverage and good containment, forcing 3rd & 12 at the 13-yard line. Jackson rolled left on 3rd down, seemingly having nowhere to throw.

An offensive holding penalty on the play was declined, and the Ravens had to settle for a 32-yard field goal attempt.

Justin Tucker hit the the FG to restore Baltimore’s 7-point lead at 20-13; with 08:19 remaining in the 3rd quarter. The scoring drive was 8 plays and covered 57 yards. The Washington defense had bent (a lot) but not broken on the drive.

Commanders are stopped
Washington couldn’t move the ball, so Tress Way punted, and the ball was downed at the Baltimore 6 yard line.

Ravens open a 14-point lead
The Ravens had a chance to open the game up to a 2-score lead and increase the pressure on the visiting underdog Commanders, but they would need to move the ball from deep in their own territory to do so. They already had a 93-yard TD drive in the game, so the pressure was on the Washington defense.

The Ravens picked up 14 yards in 2 plays to start the drive, setting up a 1st down at the 20-yard line. On the 1st down play, Jackson hit TE Mark Andrews for 15 yards with S Jeremy Chinn in coverage.

Two plays later, the Ravens had reached the 40-yard line facing 3rd & 5. The Washington defense had a chance for a big stop here.

Instead, Benjamin St-Juste was flagged for pass interference on a terrible call to give the Ravens a fresh set of downs at midfield.

On the first-down play, Jackson hit a wide-open (virtually uncovered) Mark Andrews for 38 yards and another 1st down at the Washington 12 yard line.

Derrick Henry got the ball on 1st & 2nd down, scoring from the 7 yard line on the second carry. With the extra point, Baltimore opened a 14-point lead. The game was in danger of getting completely out of hand.

With 2:08 remaining in the quarter, there was plenty of time remaining, but the Commanders offense would need a decisive scoring drive right now.

Commanders put together a 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to stay in the game
The Commanders started the drive at the 30-yard line. An Ekeler run and Ertz reception earned a 1st down a the Washington 44-yard line.

After a McNichols run, Daniels hit Ertz again for a 24 yard gain to the Baltimore 27-yard line to bring the 3rd quarter to an end.

Fourth Quarter

Despite trailing by 2 touchdowns, the Commanders offense was showing life, and had moved the ball 43 yards in 4 plays to close out the quarter. The good guys had 15 minutes left on the game clock to go 27 yards for a touchdown, get a defensive stop, and then score another TD to tie or take the lead.

On first down, Jayden Daniels completed a pass to Terry McLaurin at the 13-yard line and the receiver was simply blasted by the DB, but held onto the ball. The officials threw a flag but then picked it up. It was a legal hit by the defender, but a great job to hold onto the ball by Terry.

Two plays later, Washington faced 3rd & 10 at the 13 yard line. The Baltimore crowd came to life with deafening noise, but Daniels was cool as a cucumber, and completed a pass to Zach Ertz at the 1-yard line.

On 4th & goal from the 6-yard line, with the game possibly on the line, Daniels hit Terry McLaurin on one of the greatest passes and contested catches of the season. After the extra point, the Commander had closed the gap to 7 points again, 27-20.

Ravens eat up nearly 6 mins on the clock and add to their lead
At this point in the game broadcast, it was announced that Jonathan Allen was out with a pec injury.

On the 3rd play of the drive, Jackson completed a pass to Bateman for 17 yards to get the ball across midfield to Washington’s 48 yard line.

Two plays later, Bateman earned another 18 yards on a catch & run in the middle of the field, getting the ball to the Washington 29-yard line.

Two plays later, it was 3rd & 11 following a tackle for loss by Clelin Ferrell on Lamar Jackson.

This is the key play the Commanders need to make. With a good open field tackle, Percy Butler stopped Isaiah Likely 2 yards short of the line to gain. Justin Tucker came on for a 39-yard field goal to make the score 30-20 with 06:18 remaining on the clock. The drive had lasted 9 plays and covered 57 yards.

Washington would need two scores to tie or win the game, so the offense will need to move the ball quickly.

Commanders
At this point in the game, Daniels was 23-34, 261 yards, 2 TDs and no interceptions. He’s had a good day passing.

He was sacked on 2nd down, however, forcing 3rd & 10 — a loss that the team really couldn’t afford. However, the team wasn’t going to punt, so Daniels had two plays to pick up the first down.

An offensive holding call pushed the ball back to the Washington 44-yard line. It would take some rabbit-from-the hat play now with Washington facing 3rd & 20.

Jayden Daniels completed a pass for 8 yards to Zaccheaus, bringing up 4th & 12. To stay in the ball game, the Commanders would have to have this play.

Daniels threw the ball to Noah Brown 23 yards downfield, and a defensive pass interference call kept the drive alive.

With less than 3 minutes remaining, on 3rd down, Daniels scrambled for 3 yards and got out of bounds. It was another 4th down, and, needing ten points to tie, Dan Quinn opted to bring Austin Seibert out for a 49-yard field goal attempt.

Seibert split the post to add 3 points, making the score 30-23 with 02:48 on the clock.

No onside kick; no stop
Faced with the option of kicking off or attempting an onside kick, Quinn opted to kick the ball to the Ravens. Seibert put it into the end zone, and the Ravens set up at the 30-yard line for their final offensive drive of regulation time.

On 2nd down, Henry broke a 27-yard run on a toss to the left side to reach the Washington 41-yard line as the two-minute warning was given.

The Ravens had the ball on 1st down after the break. Both teams had a time out. The result wasn’t yet certain, but the odds of a Commanders win were down to slim and none.

After a 1st down run by Derrick Henry, the league’s leading rusher (who had 127 rushing yards for the game to this point), the Commanders used their final time out with 1:56 remaining.

A 5-yard gain on the next play set up 3rd & 1 with the clock running. On the 3rd down play, with 01:10 on the clock, Lamar Jackson kept the ball and ran for 2 yards, getting hit as he neared the sideline, prompting a bit of a tussle between the tackler (Jeremy Chinn) and the players on the Ravens sideline.

With about a minute on the clock, Lamar Jackson merely needed to kneel down twice to end the game.

Washington Commanders vs. Baltimore Ravens Game Highlights | NFL 2024 Season Week 6

Full Game Stats

Statistics via ESPN

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