Five takeaways from Washington’s loss to Baltimore
The Washington Commanders dropped their first game in a month with a 30-23 defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. Here are five takeaways from the matchup.
1. Zay Flowers had a big day.
The Ravens, which came into Sunday’s game with the league’s best statistical offense, had few missteps on the day, amassing 484 yards on nine drives. While they’re known for being a run-first offense, the Commanders knew there was more to that unit. That knowledge wasn’t enough to stop Zay Flowers from finding open spots in their coverage, though.
Flowers got the Ravens rolling on their first drive with a screen that went 44 yards down to the Commanders’ 20-yard line. It foreshadowed what Flowers would do for the rest of the day, as he caught all nine of his passes for 132 yards. Flowers was often the Ravens’ go-to option when they needed a first down, and the wideout normally delivered, as seven of his catches resulted in a first down.
Flowers didn’t score on the day, but his plays directly led to the Ravens getting in the end zone. He drew a pass interference penalty on third-and-10 that put Baltimore at the Commanders’ 3-yard line, which was followed by a three-yard touchdown run from Derrick Henry. He had a 15-yard reception later in the game on third-and-5, which put the Ravens in position to get in the end zone again on a 13-yard touchdown catch by Mark Andrews.
The Commanders’ secondary had two encouraging performances against the Cardinals and Browns, but Sunday’s game showed there is still more for them to learn.
2. Struggles in the run game.
Baltimore owned the league’s best rushing offense heading into Sunday, but the Commanders were not far behind them with the second most yards per game. The Ravens kept to that identity, but the Commanders had a tougher time.
Some of that was because the Commanders were without Brian Robinson Jr., their top rusher, as he was ruled out Saturday with a knee injury. They still had Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols, but it’s clear his presence was missed with the Commanders going 4-of-12 on third down, an area where Robinson has largely excelled because of his physical running style.
The Commanders also didn’t end up running the ball nearly as much as normal with just 52 yards on 18 carries. Again, some external factors played role, like how the Ravens allowed the fewest rushing yards per game and that Washington was down two scores for much of the second half. However, the fact remains that Washington found little success on the ground; they were held to just seven carries in the first half.
There are no updates on Robinson’s status at this point, but the hope is that his absence will be a short one.
