Zay Flowers Lights up the Field: Ravens Defeat Commanders for Fourth Consecutive Victory
The highly anticipated quarterback duel between the Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson and the Washington Commanders' rookie Jayden Daniels, who has taken the league by storm through the first five weeks of the season, took place on Sunday afternoon. In the Battle of the Beltways matchup, the Ravens were hoping to cool off the Commanders, who had won four straight games going into Week Six and were leading the NFC East division. Heading into the game, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh knew that the rising Commanders, who were hoping to make a statement this afternoon, could not be taken lightly as the Ravens were aiming to win their fourth straight game. The Ravens defeated the Commanders 30-20 at M&T Bank Stadium, improving to 4-2 on the season, thanks to a dominant effort by second-year receiver Zay Flowers, who had nine grabs for 132 yards.
The Ravens appeared to be moving the ball well in their opening possession of the game, but a pass meant for tight end Mark Andrews tipped off Andrews' hands and was intercepted by Commanders' cornerback Mike Sainristil, recording the team's first interception of the season and preventing the Ravens from scoring to begin the game. The next drives saw the Ravens and Commanders exchange back-to-back field goals, with kickers Justin Tucker of the Ravens and Austin Seibert of the Commanders each converting from 40-plus yards out to knot the score at 3-3. The game's first touchdown between these two explosive offenses would be scored by the Ravens on their first drive of the second quarter, with veteran running back Derrick Henry scoring on a three-yard touchdown run to give the Ravens a 10-3 lead. However, the Commanders' offense, led by Daniels, would instantly answer with a touchdown drive of their own, as he connected with receiver Terry McLaurin for a seven-yard touchdown grab to tie the game at 10 points apiece.
After Jackson found Andrews for a 13-yard touchdown grab with 53 seconds remaining, the Ravens would retake the lead at 17-10 on their next drive as the first half was coming to a finish. The Ravens would block a late field-goal attempt by the Commanders heading into halftime, with the lead still at 17-10. The Ravens had a 20-13 lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the third quarter after trading field goals with the Commanders once again on their opening drives of the second half. The Ravens offense began to put some distance between the two teams after the Commanders were forced to punt quickly.
With two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Henry found the end zone for the second time in the game from seven yards out, helping the Ravens take a 27-13 lead. Nevertheless, Daniels and the Commanders would show why they are a formidable team, as with 12 minutes remaining in the game, Washington converted on a fourth and goal at the Ravens' six-yard line, and McLaurin scored his second touchdown of the day from six yards out to reduce their deficit to 27-20. The two sides would each make a field goal on back-to-back drives for the third time during the game with three minutes remaining and the Ravens leading 30-23 after a field goal by the Commanders. The Commanders' defense would try its hardest to give their offense one more chance at a game-tying drive, however, the Ravens' offense would end the game with a two-yard scramble from Jackson to run out the clock and seal the victory.
