At the beginning of the Ravens’ joint practice with the Commanders, it seemed like Baltimore’s offense would be in for a long afternoon.
The Commanders’ cornerbacks consistently stymied the Ravens’ wideouts in 1-on-1 reps from the five-yard line with rookies Ja’Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt both failing to score a touchdown. Lane in particular struggled with physical press coverage at the line of scrimmage and lacked precise footwork in his release. Rashod Bateman was the only member of his unit to score multiple
touchdowns in the period – he found the end zone three times via clean route-running wins.
Next came 7-on-7 work from the 10-yard line. Lamar Jackson overshot an open Justice Hill on a wheel route on the first play, but he completed his remaining five passes with touchdowns to:
- Tight end Mark Andrews, who caught the ball short of the goal line on the next play but adjusted for a score on a similar concept a few plays later.
- Bateman, who ran an easy 7-yard in route and walked in untouched.
- Lane, who extended out for a catch in a tight window.
- Tight end Josh Cuevas, who adjusted to a ball throw slightly behind him and made a sliding catch.
In 11-on-11 work, Ravens offense struggled to find the end zone during both red zone periods. In the first, the run game was solid; Derrick Henry had plenty of open holes and the Commanders defense wanted nothing to do with him. Jackson took multiple passes into the flat but did find Justice Hill across the middle for a touchdown. In the second period, the offensive line allowed pressure on three straight plays, with Jackson spinning into a scramble on one and finding a checkdown the other two times. On his last play of the afternoon, the two-time MVP threw an uncharacteristically bad interception, lofting up an easy ball for Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil. Jackson was trying to put it behind the defense for LaJohntay Wester, but he may have been a little trigger-happy. He had more time to make a better throw – or decision, as Bateman was open on the right side of the field.
Between the red zone sessions was full-field 11-on-11 work. Bateman, who was serving as Baltimore’s de facto WR1 with Zay Flowers sidelined, heated back up in this period, finding soft spots in zone coverage and racking up yards after the catch on a few screens. Devontez Walker had the longest play of the day, catching a 20-yard crosser, turning the corner, and outrunning the Washington secondary for a 60-yard touchdown.
After practice, head coach Jesse Minter confirmed that the absence of Flowers and several other players, including second-round outside linebacker Zion Young and second-year cornerback Bilhal Kone, was due to minor, short-term injuries.
The Ravens will kick off their final preseason game against the Commanders at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Friday night at 6 p.m. ET. The contest will be crucial in deciding the starting center competition between Jovaughn Gwyn and Ethan Pocic as well as the final spots on the 53-man roster, which will be set at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday.
