Ravens vs. Commanders: 3 Players To Watch

Who will be the difference-maker when the Baltimore Ravens take on the Washington Commanders?

Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Roquan Smith (0) reacts to a stop on third down in the first quarter of the NFL game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Riding a three-game winning streak, the Baltimore Ravens are one of the hottest teams in football. On Sunday, though, they face one of the only teams hotter than them in the Washington Commanders, who've won four-straight games.

These next-door neighbors don't get together very often, so they haven't developed much of a historical rivalry. With both teams being good, though, the region is abuzz ahead of Sunday's marquee showdown.

All that out of the way, here's three Ravens players to keep an eye on for this game.

C Tyler Linderbaum

Linderbaum, who battled an injury in the preseason, has picked up right where he left off as one of the game's best centers. According to Pro Football Focus, the third-year pro has allowed no sacks and only two pressures on 184 pass-block snaps. Not to mention that he's still elite as a run-blocker.

Between Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, the Commanders' interior defensive line is arguably their greatest strength. Linderbaum will match up with both players plenty, and it's up to him to keep them away from Lamar Jackson and co.

LB Roquan Smith

Washington's ground game hasn't received much attention with Daniels capturing headlines, but it's quietly been one of the best this season. The Commanders rank first in the league with 13 rushing touchdowns and second in rushing yards with 178.4 yards per game, only behind the Ravens' 211.2 yards per game. Even if Brian Robinson Jr., who's questionable with a knee injury, can't go, Baltimore can't afford to forget the run game.

Smith, as the centerpiece of the defense, will play a huge role in stopping the run. The two-time All-Pro leads the team with 49 tackles this season, and ideally, he'll add a lot more to that total after this game.

S Kyle Hamilton

In the same vein, Hamilton is a Swiss Army Knife who will have to be at his best against a dangerous Washington offense. On the other hand, his duties lie more in the passing game.

Last week, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow shredded the Ravens' secondary to the tune of 392 yards and five touchdowns. While the Ravens won that game, Hamilton and co. know that kind of performance simply isn't acceptable going forward, especially against another dangerous offense like Washington's.

"It's just [about] consistency," Hamilton told reporters Wednesday. "We gave up 38 points, and the offense did everything in their power to get us to win that game. Obviously, Marlon [Humphrey] had the big pick at the end, but other than that, I don't really know how much the defense did for us to win that game.

"It's up to us to go back to the drawing board [and] see what we did wrong. It's only Week 6 right now, so still we have a long way to go to be able to fix this thing."