Everything Commanders fans need to know for preseason finale

The Washington Commanders‘ regular season will commence in two weeks, but one more preseason game is on the agenda before we can turn our attention to meaningful football, where wins and losses actually matter.

Don’t tell that to the Baltimore Ravens, though.

John Harbaugh’s club has rattled off 22 consecutive preseason wins; an NFL record. They haven’t lost since 2015 and drubbed Washington 37-3 in last year’s slate. The Commanders will look to put an end to that streak but the Ravens will be equally motivated to extend it, so that’s one storyline to watch.

Another in-game narrative to monitor? How much Washington’s starters will see the field Saturday night. The first-team didn’t play at all in last year’s preseason finale, but Ron Rivera has understandably changed course this time around with so many moving parts, specifically on the offensive side of the ball.

Rivera told reporters Wednesday that starters will play “very limited.” That’s an admittedly vague phrase to try and translate, but it sounds like Carson Wentz, Terry McLaurin and Co. will get one drive to find the end zone.

How much will the Commanders’ starters play in Saturday’s preseason finale against the Ravens?

Maybe they won’t even get one drive if they produce a couple first downs? Whatever the case, don’t expect to see the first-team for very long. We’d like to see the starters build some confidence and momentum before the regular season (they haven’t looked great in the first two exhibitions), but their limited reps does give third and fourth-stringers a chance to bolster (or weaken) their roster chances.

And according to Rivera, a lot of final roster decisions will be determined by how some players perform at M&T Bank Stadium.

"“This is a very important game. Not everything is decided (for the 53-man roster),” Rivera told reporters. “There are still some spots we are looking at … and that will be impacted by how some guys play. I think this game will impact some of the guys in the secondary, to be honest.”"

Well, we know what we’ll be watching Saturday. It’s unclear how many players Washington will keep in the secondary. If we had to guess, Rivera was referring to Jeremy Reaves, Troy Apke, Christian Holmes, Steven Parker, Ferrod Gardner and DeJuan Neal as guys who could be playing for a roster spot in the finale.

On the offensive side of the ball, expect a big dose of Sam Howell. While Taylor Heinicke will relieve Wentz initially, it’s clear the coaching staff wants an extended look at the team’s younger players and Howell fits that bill.

After a show-stopping debut, the fifth-round rookie took his lumps against Kansas City, including tossing a game-sealing interception and taking unnecessary sacks trying to extend broken plays. The Ravens’ defense presents another difficult challenge for Howell, so we’re interested to see how he manages.