Previewing Week 4: Ravens at Washington

Monday Night Football did not go as the Ravens had planned, and now they have a short week to try to get back on track against the Washington Football Team. The Ravens were on a roll headed into week 3, but unfortunately, they ran into a team that was far better prepared and it showed on the field. It seemed as if the Ravens just could not get into a groove offensively after a promising first drive that fizzled out in the Red Zone. On defense, Wink Martindale had no answers for a precision passing attack orchestrated by Andy Reid and perfectly executed by Patrick Mahomes.

It should be a welcome respite for the Ravens to take on a Washington Football Team that has struggled offensively. Second year QB Dwayne Haskins has struggled with accuracy and turnovers, throwing three interceptions in last week’s match-up with the Cleveland Browns and fumbling the ball four times through these first three weeks of the season.

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Washington is rated 29^th in offensive DVOA through three weeks and are averaging a mere 20.7 points per game and 288 yards of offense. There haven’t been many bright spots in Washington’s offense, but one of them would have to be WR Terry McLaurin. The second year wideout is already proving to be one of the more complete WRs in the league with advanced route running skills and the speed to take the top off the defense. If he had a more reliable QB, there is a good chance McLaurin would be more of a household name.

The Ravens defense had what was likely it’s worst showing since week 4 of 2019. It’s not something we have seen very often in Wink Martindale’s tenure as the Ravens defensive coordinator, but he had his lunch money stolen by Andy Reid on Monday Night Football. The Ravens defensive players had their fair share of issues as well. Rookie LB Patrick Queen looked completely lost in coverage, and Marcus Peters had his worst game as a Raven giving up 7 receptions for 146 yards and 2 TDs.

It wasn’t all bad for the Ravens defense as lineman Brandon Williams and Calais Campbell were stout in run defense, but the lack of pass-rush was a major culprit in the loss. Matthew Judon had a perfectly timed rush off the edge that should have resulted in a sack called back on an offsides penalty that looked dubious at best on replay, but that was the kind of night it was to be for the Ravens. Judon is due for a big game, and I think he might be in store for a 2020 breakout performance in this match-up.

The pass-rush could be in store for a “stats” game against the Washington team. Haskins has been sacked 10 times through 3 weeks, and he is not exactly the most mobile QB playing behind a spotty offensive line. This is likely a game where Martindale throws the kitchen sink at the young QB and forces him to make quick decisions. Against a Ravens defense that is angry and looking to bounce back, it could be a long day.

The Ravens offense may have a more difficult time ahead of them on Sunday as Washington has proven to have a formidable defense that starts up front with a talent-laden defensive line. Washington has the 4th best defense according to DVOA and are 6th in total defense. They have been particularly good against the pass, ranking 2nd in DVOA and they have totaled the 2nd most sacks in the NFL with 13 through 3 weeks.

However, Baltimore may have caught a break as rookie DE Chase Young will not be available in this contest due to a groin strain and DT Matt Ioannidas will also be out because of a torn biceps. Those two have arguably been Washington’s best two defensive lineman, and their absence will be significant. Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne still form a nice interior tandem while Montez Sweat and Ryan Kerrigan are quality Edge defenders, so it won’t be a walk in the park for the Ravens even with Washington’s injuries.

The Ravens offense lost its way against KC largely because a negative game-script goaded offensive coordinator into a pass-first attack in the second quarter of the game, reminiscent in many ways of last year’s playoff loss to the Titans. The running game was integrated more in the second half of the game and Gus Edwards had some nice runs that showed the Ravens are still capable of running the ball. I think this is a game where the Ravens will hand the ball off 30+ times and put up over 200 yards on the ground.

A few things that I will be looking for:

Getting rookie playmakers J.K. Dobbins and Devin Duvernay more involved

We saw Duvernay’s dynamic ability in his TD return for a TD, one of the lone bright spots on the night for the Ravens. He also had a nice gain on a touch pass from jet sweep motion on the Ravens first drive. Unfortunately, it seems that his involvement in the offense is mostly restricted to these types of short plays and WR screens where they get him the ball and hope he makes a play. I’d like to see him running more routes and letting his speed put some strain on the defense.

Dobbins has also been a positive spark in the offense. We’ve seen him repeatedly make players miss in the open field and he has been effective in the passing game as well in fairly limited action. I think we will eventually see Dobbins take over as the primary RB in this offense, and I would like to see him continue to get more involved as his contributions remain very positive.

Lamar Jackson’s pocket presence

This season has not gotten off to a great start for Lamar Jackson. He had a fantastic week 1 performance where he expertly navigated the pocket and evaded pressure, but his play has faltered since then. There have been repeated examples of Jackson trying evade the pass-rush by bailing out of the pocket early and it has not worked out well for him. I think his success in week 1 has allowed him to get into a bad habit where he thinks he can use his athleticism to beat the pass-rush and more often than not it has led to him running into sacks. He needs to work on standing tall in the pocket, and stepping up into running lanes instead of trying break the pocket as soon as he senses any pressure.

Patrick Queen

It’s no secret that the Ravens 1^st round draft pick has had some issues early on this season. He was even yanked out of the game this past week as he continued to make mistakes that hurt the team. I think we all want to see Queen succeed and there is a natural learning curve for rookie LBs that he is going to have to work on. It’s hard to rely on him at this point, especially on coverage downs, and it is going to be interesting to see how the Ravens use him moving forward if he continues to make the same mistakes.

Ravens pass-catchers

After a big week 1, the Ravens wide receivers and tight ends have been very quiet. Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown had as many drops as catches in week 3 vs the Chiefs, and that is going to have to change if the Ravens want to continue to evolve as an offense. I think this game against Washington will be an opportunity for the entire offense to have a big game and I hope to see the Ravens pass-catchers involved in a big way.

Final Thoughts

This game may not look like a huge challenge on paper, but it will test the Ravens mindset and leadership to see how they can bounce back from a bad loss. I also think it is important to remember that this is only the 4^th game of a strange season in which practice time was limited and there was no preseason at all. I think in general the Ravens are a very well coached team, even if this past week left a lot to be desired, and I expect a big win that should happen against an inferior opponent:

Ravens win this one 38 – 13