Baltimore is now 3-1 as schedule-breather begins.
Sunday, October 4, 2020: It’s a philosophy that’s as old as time itself–one that has been passed down from parents to children for as long as anyone can remember. “When you fall off the horse, you have to climb back on.”
It’s apropos, too. It’s Preakness weekend in Baltimore, a town that revers football and thoroughbred racing. Although the strangeness that is 2020 saw the Triple Crown race run nearly five months later than usual–and as the third, rather than the second, event in the series–the bromide still applies.
After coming off a nationally-televised humbling at the hands of the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, the Ravens picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, climbed back on their horse, and dispatched the Washington Football Team, 31-17, at a fan-less FedEx Field in nearby Landover.
Even if the Ravens (now 3-1) had won the high-profile showdown with the Chiefs, it was quite likely that they were going to outclass, outlast, and outplay their southern neighbors–a team that has been out of the playoffs for the last four years and 22 of the past 28 seasons.
And it’s not just a ‘Washingon thing” either. When favored by ten or more points, the Ravens are now 37-0 in regular-season play–the only NFL team that can boast a spotless record in such games.
It was incumbent on the Ravens to get back on track quickly. The team is now in what many consider to be the ‘weaker’ weak portion of the schedule–with games against Washington, Cincinnati (next week at home, 1p), and Philadelphia. Those games precede a mid-season gauntlet that begins with a home game against Pittsburgh, which has been moved up one week due to a COVID-19 outbreak among the Tennessee Titans.
On this Sunday, Baltimore used its usual front-running formula that has translated into lots of success under 13th-year head coach John Harbaugh. The Ravens are now 100-18 under Harbaugh when leading at halftime, 100-15 when holding an opponent to 21 or fewer points, and 90-26 when scoring first.
Baltimore rushed for 144 yards–the team’s 27th straight game with 100 or more, the league’s seventh-longest streak all-time–and wore down the WFT’s talented-but-young defensive front seven. And when he had to, quarterback Lamar Jackson (14-for-21, 193 yards, two touchdowns, interception, sack, 107.8 rating, 52 yards on seven rushes) was able to get into a good rhythm against an average-at-best Washington secondary.
Coming off a week that saw the Ravens gain fewer yards than in any game since 2017, Jackson directed a 350-yard attack. He had been sacked four times in each of the past two weeks but generally avoided that this week, getting taken down once as he tried to run back to the line of scrimmage himself.
Not only that, the Ravens recovered well from a Jackson-era low of 228 yards of total offense. Tight end Mark Andrews caught three passes for 57 yards and two scores, including a 25-yarder in which he ran all the way from the right side of the set to the left pylon and gathered in a well-thrown ball from a running Jackson.
Execution was paramount on this day when the offensive line had to undergo a reshuffling. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley (shoulder) was inactive, so usual right tackle Orlando Brown, Jr. moved to the left side. Backup DJ Fluker, who had not played tackle in seven years, slid in on the right side. Fluker generally had a good game, getting called for two late penalties in garbage time.
The defense needed to rebound from its poor effort against Kansas City–one that saw it give up a dozen plays of 15 or more yards and a sieve-like 517 yards of total offense. But against WFT signal-caller Dwayne Haskins, who has not performed well when pressured this season, linebacker Matt Judon got his first two sacks of the season, and at least five quarterback hits, while Jaylon Ferguson added another sack.
Haskins (32-for-45, 314 yards, three sacks, 90.4 rating) did manage to play within himself, taking what the defense gave him and not turning the ball over after giving it away five times against Cleveland last week.
The Ravens began to show their superiority early in the game, scoring off a Marlon Humphrey strip and Marcus Peters fumble recovery. The Ravens cashed in when Mark Ingram plowed into the end zone for the game’s first score, giving them a league-high 38 points off turnovers.
Moments later–following a missed Washington field goal–Jackson worked off blocks by Bozeman and Andrews and took a read-option keeper 50 yards for his longest career scoring run. Jackson became the fastest player in history to reach the 5000-yard passing mark and 2000-yard rushing barrier.
Once again, special teams also played a role, as punter Sam Koch–playing in his 228th game as a Raven, tying Ray Lewis for second place behind Terrell Suggs’ 229–found Miles Boykin with a fake-punt pass; Koch is 7-for-7 passing for his career. That play set up Andrews’ first touchdown as the Ravens took a 21-7 lead.
Just after halftime, the Ravens went on one of their patented six-minute drives, culminating with Andrews’ fake to the sideline and dash down the seam before hauling in a 22-yard pass from Jackson. It was Andrews’ 14th touchdown since the start of last season, leading all NFL receivers and tight ends.
Woodlawn native and Good Counsel grad Kendall Fuller intercepted two passes, including one from Ravens’ backup and former Washington first-round pick Robert Griffin III. The other pick ended Jackson’s streak of159 straight throws without one–sixth-longest in Ravens’ history.
But there was no stopping the Ravens’ desire to start another win streak, one that couldn’t start until they again mounted their playoff-bound horse.
