Ravens vs. Commanders Preview: Battle of the Beltway

The Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders meet for possibly their biggest matchup ever.

Aug 28, 2021; Landover, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) scrambles from Washington Football Team defensive tackle Tim Settle (97) at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

It's hard to remember a time where the "rivalry" between the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders felt as real as it does right now.

Heading into Sunday's matchup at M&T Bank Stadium, both teams are among the most exciting to watch in the NFL. Baltimore's offense is firing on all cylinders behind outstanding play from Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. At the same time, Washington is riding a surprising four-game win streak with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels taking the league by storm.

Simply put, it's an exciting time to be a football fan in the area.

"I'm sure everybody is excited in the region, in the DMV," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters Friday. It's cool; it's fun. That's what it's about. Sports is to have fun for the fans. We take it as life and death, and to us on a given day, it kind of feels like it is. But, in the end, it's a great distraction; it's a great thing to have fun with.

"I hope people have a great time around the Ravens and the Commanders and everybody else in the league. I hope they enjoy it. I hope it's something that gets their minds in a different place sometimes, and they can enjoy it. To whatever extent that is, that's great. For us, it's a rivalry, because it's our next game."

Defensively, the Ravens have to contend with not only Daniels on the ground and through the air, but also his arsenal of weapons. In the backfield Brian Robinson Jr. (who's questionable for this game) headlines the NFL's second-best rushing attack behind Baltimore's, while veteran Austin Ekeler is always dangerous as a receiving threat. Out wide, Terry McLaurin remains one of the best receivers in the game, and is now getting the attention he deserves with a good quarterback throwing him the ball.

The Ravens have allowed far too many explosive plays early in the season, so limiting such plays is their top priority going forward.

"Especially against somebody like [Daniels] and the team and what they've been able to do up until now, but I feel like we've had plays like that in every game, and it's just a matter of us decreasing those plays happening, because I feel like other than that, we've having pretty good games," safety Kyle Hamilton told reporters Wednesday. "It's up to us on the backend to get that fixed and go out there and play a complete game."

On the other side of the ball, the Commanders have shown some serious holes, most notably allowing 11 passing touchdowns to rank 31st league-wide. That said, there's still a lot of talent on this defense. Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne headline one of the most-dangerous defensive lines in the league, while newcomers Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu have held down the second level.

"I think they have a disruptive front [and] experienced linebackers who've been playing well [and] who do a great job," Henry told reporters Wednesday. "They're playing well in the back end, too, so I think they have a solid all-around group. When you have momentum on a team, and you're playing complementary football, that's kind of hard to stop, and I feel like they've been doing that very well. [Their] offense is playing well, and [their] defense is picking up for them and back and forth. They've been doing a great job."

Despite the 1 p.m. ET kickoff, most of the country will see this game as CBS' top crew of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo has the call.

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