Ravens @ Football Team
Final Score: Ravens 37, Football Team 3
Writer: Dan Adams (@dadams0323 on Twitter)
The biggest story from this game, and likely the only fantasy-relevant one, was that J.K. Dobbins went down with a torn ACL and will miss the entire regular season. His injury was a cloud over the rest of the game and possibly led the Ravens to pull their starters faster than expected. Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley came in for the second drive, and from that point on the game was entirely in Baltimore’s control. Huntley accounted for five total touchdowns and looked to be in perfect command of the offense. He delivered the ball on time, extended plays when required, and showed off a beautiful deep ball on several occasions. Defensively, the Ravens were able to overpower the Football Team’s offensive line. Washington quarterbacks had no time to throw and their running backs had no lanes to run in. The result was a 37-3 blowout for the Ravens, and with this win, they have set the record for most consecutive wins in the preseason with 20.
Baltimore Ravens
| Preseason Week 1 | Preseason Week 2 |
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson: 3/4, 29 yards, 2 sacks
Tyler Huntley: 24/33. 285 yards, 4 TD | 6 carries, 14 yards, TD
Lamar Jackson handled a drive before exiting the game. He wasn’t asked to do much, but he looked fine in his limited amount of reps. He was sacked twice, and given how the game was going it was probably wise for the Ravens to not risk him taking any more hits. Tyler Huntley played the rest of the game, and it was striking how similar the offense looked with him. Jackson is a uniquely talented player, and this isn’t to suggest that Huntley is in that class, but Huntley was able to do a pretty good Jackson impersonation. Huntley got the scoring started with a touchdown run after he was forced out of the pocket.
We're up after the TOUCHDOWN run by @_SNOOP1!
Tune in now on @wbaltv11. pic.twitter.com/tdP7rlnIYM
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 28, 2021
From that point until the Ravens let off the gas, Huntley put on a passing clinic. He was decisive and had good velocity on the ball. He effectively attacked tight windows and used the threat of his legs to draw defenders in before finding an open player downfield. His touch on deep balls was perfect, and his decision-making was basically flawless. His touchdown throw to Eric Tomlinson is probably an ill-advised decision against a starting defense, but to Huntley’s credit, he made it work.
.@_SNOOP1 hits TE Eric Tomlinson to give us a 16-0 lead in the second quarter!
Tune in on @wbaltv11! pic.twitter.com/YrK5UMz4CT
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 28, 2021
Later in the game, Huntley showed off his ability to make plays outside the pocket again by delivering a perfect pass to Tylan Wallace for Huntley’s fourth touchdown pass.
TD No. 4 for @_SNOOP1!@OfficialTylan2 gets in on the action!
Tune in on @wbaltv11! pic.twitter.com/rWrp8gzHFa
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 29, 2021
In the third quarter, up 37-3, the Ravens essentially decided to stop passing. Putting Huntley’s stats into context, considering he didn’t start the game and his offense only attacked for less than three quarters, this was an awesome performance regardless of the caliber of defense he was facing.
Running Backs
J.K. Dobbins: 2 carries, 15 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 2 yards
Gus Edwards: 2 carries, 27 yards
Ty’Son Williams: 4 carries, 42 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, -1 yard
Nate McCrary: 22 carries, 68 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 15 yards
Ben Mason: 5 carries, 13 yards
J.K. Dobbins started the game and unfortunately suffered a serious knee injury trying to break a tackle after catching a screen pass. Dobbins will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
An MRI today confirmed that Ravens’ RB J.K. Dobbins, one of the top young running backs in the game, suffered a season-ending torn ACL, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 29, 2021
Prior to Dobbins going down, Gus Edwards had two really nice runs. Edwards looked explosive getting upfield and cutting behind his blocks, but he also only handled those two carries because after Dobbins went down Edwards was pulled from the game as well. Presumably, Edwards will now be the primary running back for the Ravens. Barring the Ravens bringing in another running back via trade or free agency, it looks like Ty’Son Williams will slide into a secondary role. He also looked pretty effective, and any running back that gets double-digit touches per game in this offense will have fantasy value. Nate McCrary handled mop-up duty in the second half before he too was briefly banged up, which led to the Ravens using fullback Ben Mason to close out the game.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Devin Duvernay: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 47 yards
James Proche: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 52 yards, TD
Ben Victor: 5 targets, 5 receptions, 85 yards, TD
Mark Andrews: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 27 yards
Tylan Wallace: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 27 yards, TD
Eric Tomlinson: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 20 yards, TD
Josh Oliver: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 19 yards
Deon Cain: 5 targets, 1 reception, 5 yards
Mark Andrews was the only projected starting pass-catcher to play for the Ravens. He caught both of his targets, one on a quick pass that went for a small gain, and one for a pretty sizeable gain on a nicely-timed throw by Jackson.
That @Lj_Era8 to @Mandrews_81 connection is in midseason form.
Tune in now on @wbaltv11! pic.twitter.com/5n7ZHxq4lt
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 28, 2021
Given the injuries to Sammy Watkins, Marquise Brown, and Rashod Bateman we got a glimpse of who the next men up will be for the Ravens. James Proche, Devin Duvernay, and Ben Victor all started and made at least one highlight play. Victor was the leader in all receiving stats and did a good job of using his big frame to create space. His touchdown catch saw him use his length to present a target in the endzone that the defender simply couldn’t get to.
🎯🎯 @_SNOOP1 to @BinjimenVictor for the TOUCHDOWN!
Tune in on @wbaltv11! pic.twitter.com/VKHDqZq0ql
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 28, 2021
Proche had an even more impressive touchdown catch, going up and grabbing the ball over the defender and maintaining possession to the ground despite the defender ripping his helmet off. It was a little shocking that Proche didn’t get a taunting penalty for his celebration, but after a catch like that he’s earned the right to show off a bit.
This touchdown catch by @jamesproche3 😱😱😱
Tune in now on @wbaltv11! pic.twitter.com/OsCStyOKD3
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 28, 2021
Duvernay didn’t catch a touchdown, but he had a really nice catch in traffic and looked just as effective as the other receivers aside from the lack of touchdown. Deon Cain just missed on catching two deep balls that bounced off his hands and did a good job of getting open, he just couldn’t catch the ball. Both Cain and Victor left the game to be evaluated for concussions, but no word yet on if either suffered an injury.
Washington Football Team
| Preseason Week 1 | Preseason Week 2 |
Quarterback
Kyle Allen: 10/22, 100 yards
Steven Montez: 5/10, 28 yards | 3 carries, 8 yards
The Football Team sat their first and second-string quarterbacks, as well as the starting offense, and the results were what you’d expect. The Washington offensive line looked completely outmatched the entire game. Kyle Allen and Steven Montez did a good job of not turning the ball over, but that’s about where the positives end. While the Ravens didn’t record a sack, they lived in the backfield and forced Allen in particular into several rushed throws. When he did have time, Allen was let down by his pass-catchers who dropped far too many passes. Montez faired no better as a passer and was stuffed on the designed runs called for him.
Running Backs
Jonathan Williams: 5 carries, 26 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 3 yards
Peyton Barber: 4 carries, 12 yards | 2 targets
Jaret Patterson: 2 carries, -1 yard | 6 targets, 3 receptions, 15 yards
As with the quarterbacks, the running backs for the Football Team had no room to operate. Both Peyton Barber and Jaret Patterson had multiple drops and accomplished nothing on the ground. Jonathan Williams, who had the benefit of playing later in the game against the third-string defense, had a little more success but nothing to write home about. It’s hard to evaluate the running backs given how bad the offensive line looked, but the drops are definitely an issue. For Patterson, this ends his strong preseason on a sour note, as if he’s going to play he’s going to need to be a factor in the passing game. It’s unlikely the coaches make a roster decision off of one bad game, but he certainly didn’t help his cause.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Antonio Gandy-Golden: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 39 yards
Dax Milne: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 36 yards
John Bates: 1 target, 1 reception, 13 yards
Isaiah Wright: 3 targets, 1 reception, 12 yards
If you’re quarterbacks struggle, and you have no rushing attack, it stands to reason that your receivers also had a tough day. Antonio Gandy-Golden flashed some ability as one of the only bright spots for the Washington offense. He made a nice catch in traffic and another nice catch at the sideline. 39 yards isn’t much, but it was enough to lead the team. Dax Milne was the other standout, if you can call it that, and had probably the best play of the night for the Football Team with a great over-the-shoulder catch down the sideline.
Dax The Destroyer
📺 » NBC4/NBCSW | @DaxMilne pic.twitter.com/q1C4vwzoZC
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) August 28, 2021
— Dan Adams (@dadams0323 on Twitter).