Ravens Predicted to Stay Hot vs. Commanders

The Baltimore Ravens look for their fourth-straight win when they host the Washington Commanders.

Oct 4, 2020; Landover, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs for a 50 yard touchdown against Washington Football Team strong safety Landon Collins (26) during the second quarter at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images / Brad Mills-Imagn Images

It took a while for the Baltimore Ravens to get going, but after three-straight wins, they look like every bit the contender most expected.

In particular, the offense has been outstanding behind Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, as Baltimore leads the league in rushing yards (211.2 per game) and total yards (447.6 per game). The defense has shown some significant flaws, but there's enough time to course correct as needed.

In order to stay hot, though, the Ravens will need to go through a team that's even hotter than them. The Washington Commanders have won four-straight games heading into Sunday's matchup with Baltimore, and their offense is also humming along behind rookie sensation Jayden Daniels. The Ravens will be their toughhest test yet, but that challenge goes both ways.

Despite the hype surrounding this game, most analysts seem to agree on the winneer. The Ravens' editorial staff sampled predictions from 54 analysts across nine different outlets, with 46 of them predicting a Baltimore victory.

The reason behind those predictions seems to be the belief that Baltimore will wear Washington's defense down with the ground game, as has been the case for many Ravens games.

“The Ravens lead the NFL in rushing offense (211.2 ypg) and rushing defense (60.4 ypg)," NFL.com's Gennaro Felice wrote. "The Commanders have proven quite capable of pounding the rock, ranking second at 178.4 ground yards per game, but can they stop a pounding? The early returns aren't promising, with Head Coach Dan Quinn's defense yielding 5.1 yards per carry, the second-worst mark in the league. To be fair, some advanced statistics are more favorable to Washington's run D, but I still don't trust this unit to slow down the prolific pairing of Lamar and Derrick Henry.”

On the other hand, the few that picked Washington expressed concern over Baltimore's shaky defense, and like Daniels and co. to take advantage of the unit's flaws.

“Baltimore felt vulnerable enough on defense to bring in longtime assistant Dean Pees this week, and it could take a little more time to sort out the problems in the secondary," the Baltimore Sun's C.J. Doon wrote. "Jayden Daniels frustrates the Ravens’ pass rush and makes enough big plays to keep Washington within striking distance before leading a late drive for the game-winning field goal.”

It is worth noting that most predicted a high-scoring game, and with two high-powered offenses, it's really anyone's guess if it goes down that route.

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