3 Things to Stash and Trash From Commanders' Week 6 Loss to Ravens

The Washington Commanders lost 30-23 on Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens.

Sep 29, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) celebrates a touchdown with Noah Brown (85) against the Arizona Cardinals in the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Washington Commanders' win-loss record stands at 4-2 following their 30-23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens who now have a matching record because of the win.

Coming out of any game teams like the Commanders try to find every avenue to get better, but each one would admit it is a lot more fun to learn from wins than losses.

On the flip side, even in losses, there are morsels of positives that Washington is going to lean on to demonstrate the team is still on the right path and will continue to improve. Some call them 'sustains and improves' but here at CommanderGameday we call them our three 'stash and trash' items of the week.

Sep 29, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) celebrates a touchdown with Noah Brown (85) against the Arizona Cardinals in the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

STASH NO. 1: BUCKEYE BROTHERS

Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown didn't play too long with each other at Ohio State, but they both come from the same program and are having solid impacts on the team this season.

McLaurin is the mainstay, the true No. 1 and there's no doubt about it. Brown is the new guy, arriving just after training camp and carving out a role where it appears he's the top dog in a group of players that make up the Commanders' No. 2 options in the passing game.

Along with tight end Zach Ertz, when Brown gets going as a contributor in the offense it seems good things happen. Combine that with McLaurin's own personal production as of late, and that's a recipe for sustained success down the road.

Including Ertz, the trio combined for 14 catches, 179 yards, and two touchdowns. McLaurin led the way in catches and had the two touchdowns, but Ertz led in receiving yards and Brown had the longest catch of the day.

Brown was also able to draw an important pass interference call against Ravens cornerback Nate Wiggins late in the fourth quarter that gave Washington 23 yards and eventually a field goal that brought the score to within one touchdown.

TRASH NO. 1: IDENTITY CRISIS

It's hard to stick to the plan when you are facing an offense that puts up tons of points when they have the ball. So it should be no surprise that quarterback Jayden Daniels set a new career high in pass attempts with 35 on Sunday.

However, even four of his runs were designed passes. So when you combine those with the three sacks that took place on dropbacks, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury called 42 passes on 56 total plays.

That 75 percent pass to run ratio is a wide spread, and because of it the Baltimore defense looked more comfortable than expected against a Washington offense that has been giving opposing units fits so far this season.

STASH NO. 2: THE DALLAS DELIVERY

No, we're not talking about the Dallas Cowboys getting their collective tails whooped on Sunday by the Detroit Lions - though we're all for sustaining those results as well, and prayers certainly go out to Lions star Aidan Hutchinson as he recovers from his injury - but more so the contributions of former rivals like defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr.

Injured in the second quarter, Armstrong didn't have a chance to fully impact this game, but we don't believe there's a disconnect between his leaving and Baltimore running back Derrick Henry having a spike in explosive runs.

With Armstrong on the field, Henry had just one run of 10 yards or more on the Ravens' first four possessions. Without him, he had three over the next five.

That equates to an 11 percent explosive run rate before Armstrong's exit, and a 20 percent rate after.

We don't yet know the severity of Armstrong's rib injury but expect to get updates on that from head coach Dan Quinn either Monday or Wednesday as the team turns the page toward the Carolina Panthers in Week 7.

TRASH NO. 2: MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

On Sunday we saw firsthand the difference between established winners and upstart teams.

Established winners know how to turn opportunities into points against very good teams. Upstart teams are still learning how to do that consistently.

Eight times in Week 6 the Commanders entered Ravens territory. Each time, the team had at least one first down play on the plus side of the field. They only came away with points five times in those eight drives, and three of those were field goals.

On the other side, Baltimore turned seven trips into plus territory (not counting the final drive of the game that ended with the Ravens in possession of the ball) and came away with points on all but one.

In a one-score game, that makes all the difference, and is what separates those who win against good opponents on a regular basis and those still putting the pieces together.

STASH NO. 3: BEING BIG ENOUGH

The Commanders' rookie quarterback has played under intense lights twice this year. Once on Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, and again this past Sunday against the Ravens.

During those two games, with the eyes of the NFL-watching world upon him, Daniels produced his two best passer ratings of the year so far and was above 100 in each.

In those two outings combined, Daniels has thrown four touchdown passes, scored five total, passed for 523 yards, and run for another 61. He also produced two of the top 60 touchdown rates in a single game this season in those matchups.

TRASH NO. 3: PASSING UNDER PRESSURE

Entering Week 6 Daniels was one of the least pressured quarterbacks in the league, ranking 20th after facing it just 50 times total over the first five games.

On Sunday, Daniels faced pressure 17 times in just one game, nearly doubling the weekly average.

Part of this was surely because of the sheer amount of passes - again, a career-high in attempts - and part of it was because Baltimore knew it couldn't let Daniels feel comfortable in the pocket.

No matter the reasons for it happening, Washington is going to need to hit the lab to figure out how to keep future teams from copying what the Ravens did this weekend to get more pressure on Daniels than ever before.

Especially because it may already be happening, Baltimore got pressure on Daniels on 40 percent of his dropbacks, and that rate has been bested by only the Cleveland Browns who got pressure on 42.4 percent of his drops the week prior.

Expect the Panthers to be looking at both games for tips on how to impact Daniels appropriately, especially after both weeks produced the rookie's first two sub-70 percent passing performances.

---

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

More Washington Commanders News

• Commanders' Jayden Daniels Gets Real About Ravens' Defense

• Commanders Learn Hard Lessons in Loss to Ravens

• Commanders' Jayden Daniels After Competitive Loss to Ravens

• Commanders Four-Game Win Streak Ends as Ravens Claim ‘Battle of the Beltway’