Ravens 30-23 Commanders (Oct. 13, 2024) Game Recap

BALTIMORE — Lamar Jackson threw nine passes to Zay Flowers in the first half and never went to him again. Mark Andrews rebounded a ball that bounced off his hands for an interception and caught his first touchdown pass of the season. And Derrick Henry was Derrick Henry.

The result was a dominant offensive performance as Jackson outshone rookie Jayden Daniels with 323 passing yards and 40 more rushing yards in a showdown between two of the NFL's best quarterbacks and the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Sunday defeated and thus celebrated their fourth win in a row.

“Just pick your poison offense,” Jackson said.

Henry ran for 132 yards and his NFL-leading eighth and ninth TDsFlowers set a career high with 132 yards receiving and Jackson moved into second place on the career rushing list among QBs. Baltimore (4:2) combined passing and running almost perfectly.

“Guys are going to get their touches and get the ball and good things are going to happen, and that's exactly what happened today,” said Andrews, who tied Todd Heap for the most TD catches since the team's move with the 41st of his career Baltimore tied the score. “We are extremely versatile in what we do and we are going to take advantage of this game, get better week after week and become the machine we can be.”

Daniels connected with Terry McLaurin on two TD passes, but didn't get nearly enough help from the backfield in a duel of the league's top two rushing offenses. With Brian Robinson Jr. is out with a knee injury, and Washington (4-2) managed just 52 yards on the ground.

“B-Rob is a great player, but he’s next man up,” Daniels said. “We have to go out there and do our job.”

The Commanders' defense struggled to contain Jackson and Henry, allowing Baltimore to gain 484 yards, and their winning streak ended at four in a loss against an opponent that is starting to look like the legitimate Super Bowl contender it was expected to be.

“We have so many guys that can make plays, a lot of guys get their chances, get the ball and get to showcase their talent,” said Henry, who became the first player to score a touchdown in each of his first six games since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005. “That’s what you want as an offense.”

The Ravens' masterpieces included scoring drives of 93 and 94 yards, the second of which was the difference in the game when Henry scored from 7 yards out late in the third quarter.

“Those two drives were desperately needed,” Flowers said. “I feel like we needed that drive to set the tone that this offense is going to keep going the whole game and we're just going to keep scoring, whether it's the run or the pass.”

The pass defense problems continued, with Daniels going 24 of 35 for 269 yards, but Baltimore was once again able to overcome its problems. Coach John Harbaugh called it the ultimate team victory.

“All three phases contributed to the win when they had to,” Harbaugh said. “People responded in many ways today.”

When asked if he thought the game showed the Ravens had the best offense in football, Jackson dismissed that opinion because there's still a long season ahead.

“We're just proving we can win games,” said Jackson, who completed 20 of his 26 passes. “There is always room for improvement.”

Injuries

Ravens: LB Malik Harrison (groin), CB Arthur Maulet (knee and hamstring) and DE Broderick Washington (knee) were inactive.

Commanders: DT Jonathan Allen was sidelined early in the fourth quarter with a chest injury. … DE Dorance Armstrong left the second half with a rib injury. … DE Clelin Ferrell missed the fourth straight game with a knee injury.

Commanders: Host the Carolina Panthers next Sunday.

Ravens: Visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday, October 21st.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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