BALTIMORE — Lamar Jackson threw for 323 yards and a touchdown to outshine rookie Jayden Daniels in a showdown between two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks this season, Derrick Henry ran for two TDs and the Baltimore Ravens beat the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Sunday for their fourth consecutive victory.
Jackson found Mark Andrews for the tight end’s first touchdown of the season and completed nine passes to Zay Flowers for 132 yards — all in the first half. Henry had 132 yards and his NFL-leading eighth and ninth TDs as the Ravens (4-2) mixed and matched the pass and run to near perfection.
Daniels connected with Terry McLaurin on two TD passes, but did not get nearly enough help from the backfield in a matchup of the two top rushing offenses in the league. With Brian Robinson Jr. out because of a knee injury, Washington (4-2) got just 52 yards on the ground.
The Commanders’ defense struggled to contain Jackson and Henry, allowing Baltimore to rack up 484 yards, and their winning streak ended at four with a loss at the hands of an opponent that is starting to look like the legitimate Super Bowl contender it was expected to be.
The masterclass by the Ravens included scoring drives of 93 and 94 yards, three sacks of Daniels and enough to overcome an early interception by Jackson when the ball went off Andrews’ hands and was caught by rookie Mike Sainristil for Washington’s first pick of the season. Struggles defending against the pass continued, with Daniels going 24 of 35 for 269 yards, but again Baltimore was able to outscore its problems.
Henry became the first player to rush for a TD in each of his first six games since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005. Andrews tied Todd Heap for the most catches since the team moved to Baltimore with the 41st of his career.
Ravens: LB Malik Harrison (groin), CB Arthur Maulet (knee and hamstring) and DE Broderick Washington (knee) were inactive.
Commanders: DT Jonathan Allen was ruled out early in the fourth quarter with a pectoral injury. … DE Dorance Armstrong left in the second with a rib injury. … DE Clelin Ferrell missed a fourth consecutive game with a knee injury.
Commanders: Host the Carolina Panthers next Sunday.
Ravens: Visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday, Oct. 21.
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