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Washington Football Team vs. Ravens Week 4 preview, matchups to watch, score prediction

By Jacob Camenker

Aug 29, 2019; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins (7) and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) shake hands after the game at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 29, 2019; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins (7) and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) shake hands after the game at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 20, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs with the ball during the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 20, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs with the ball during the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Washington defense vs. Baltimore offense

In a normal week, a matchup against the Ravens offense would be a tough one for Washington. And with a couple of key injuries, this matchup will only get more difficult.

In Week 3, Washington lost Matt Ioannidis and Chase Young to injuries. Ioannidis is out for the rest of the season with a torn bicep while Young will be out in Week 4 because of a groin injury. The good news is that Washington is deep on their defensive line, so their depth is solid. The bad news is that Ioannidis and Young are two fo the team’s better pass rushers and could have trouble without them.

Lamar Jackson has elite mobility and one of the ways that Washington would’ve been able to slow him down would’ve been by getting pressure on him up the middle from Ioannidis and on the edge from Young. The team can still pressure him a bit, but it won’t be quite as strong. And if even one D-Lineman loses up front, that will create lanes for Jackson to escape from.

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Jack Del Rio has to have his defensive line ready for this contest and in particular, Washington will be relying on Montez Sweat and Daron Payne up front. Sweat is coming off an excellent game against the Browns and he has rare athletic ability for a defensive end. He’ll be tasked with helping contain Jackson on one edge and if he can do that, it will limit the damage that Jackson can do. That’s much easier said than done, but at least Sweat has the athleticism and length needed to make some plays.

Elsewhere, linebacker play will be key in this one, as Kevin Pierre-Louis and Jon Bostic will be the last line of defense ahead of Troy Apke and Landon Collins. Both safeties have struggled tackling this year, so KPL and Bostic may have to do what they can to chase down Jackson and limit his scrambling prowess. That doesn’t seem like a battle that Washington will win even though the duo have been solid this year.

In the secondary, the focus will be on the two primary pass-catching weapons for Baltimore: WR Marquise Brown and TE Mark Andrews. Brown is a deep threat that can be eliminated with proper scheming, so Del Rio and Ron Rivera need to make sure they have a plan in place to contain him.

Doing that with Andrews won’t be easy, especially with the tight end coming off a subpar performance against the Chiefs. The linebackers and safeties will have to do what they can to make Andrews uncomfortable over the middle of the field.

Finally, the Ravens’ run game is hard to contain because they have so many weapons in that area. Washington should focus on using Payne and Jonathan Allen to slow down Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards, and JK Dobbins. That could help render the Ravens offense a bit more one-dimensional (though Jackson does a lot of damage as a rusher). Still, if the team only has to slow down Jackson and can take away his weapons, they’ll have a chance to keep up.

Defenses with the right personnel can match up with the Ravens offense. Washington isn’t there yet. They have a nice defensive line, but their back-seven play won’t be good enough to win in this area.

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