Instant Thoughts – Baltimore at Washington

August 22, 2023

by Steve Thomas

As a side note, Washington defeated the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 29 – 28 on a field goal in the final few seconds of the game, snapping the Ravens 186 game preseason winning streak.  Considering that it’s preseason, though, that’s not what’s important here.  The bigger issue in preseason game is always deeper than a mere win – loss.  Here are my instant thoughts from last night’s game:

Sam Howell

Honestly, the guy was pretty darn good, objectively.  Howell went 19 for 25 for 188 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 123.4 in two quarters of work.  Howell wasn’t perfect, of course – nobody is – but his final drive of the half, in particular, showed quite a bit of moxie, particularly while under pressure on multiple dropbacks, and was also held back by some penalties.  This is exactly the type of game that the Redskins Commanders Washington Football Team Washington coaches needed to see from Howell.  Throw in three fairly nice scrambles, and you have a quarterback who is succeeding in the preseason thusfar, even moreso considering the questionable nature of the offensive line.  Of particular note was the impressive way Howell able to spread the ball around.  There’s a long way to go, and it’s only one preseason game, but Howell has been just about everything Washington could reasonably expect so far.

Terry McLaurin

His play was fine – he had 3 receptions in 3 targets for 39 yards, but the big news was that he went down late in the second quarter with a toe injury.  Yikes.  McLaurin might be the person who Washington can least afford to lose.  It appears right now that it may be minor, but we’ll have more on this as it becomes available.

Jahan Dotson

The dude looked like a star, with 5 receptions for 76 yards.  With all due respect to the Pro Bowler on the other side, McLaurin, Dotson looked every bit like Washington’s #1 receiver.  I’ve thought from the beginning that, as good as McLaurin is, Dotson might actually have more natural talent.  Much is dependent on the play of the quarterback, of course, but right now, at least, Washington appears to have a pair of budding stars at receiver on their hands.

Running game

No real signs of life here, at least not at the starter level.  Brian Robinson was . . . okay, with 5 carries for 21 yards, for an average of 4.2 yards per carry.  His long carry went for 9 yards, meaning that he went a less-than-okay 4 for 12 for 3.0 yards per carry on his remaining carries.  Antonio Gibson’s 4 carries for 15 yards isn’t going to cut it, obviously.  Rookie Chris Rodriguez, who I was very high on last week, went 5 for 31 yards, for an average of 6.2 yards per carry, but also had a fumble.  Boo.

Second level defense

Washington’s defense once again had some troubles stopping runners in the second level, particularly since Baltimore’s star quarterback, Lamar Jackson, didn’t play.  It seems obvious at this point that the linebacker group is probably going to be a problem all year, and Ron Rivera has only himself to blame.

Jartavius Martin

Martin made up for a poor showing last week against the Browns with a touchdown-saving interception in the end zone that he was able to return for 59 yards.  A penchant for this sort of thing was Martin’s calling card in the draft, and it’s good to see him get one early in his career, even if it was just a preseason game.

Kazmeir Allen

This guy is Washington’s punt returner, at least, for 2023.  End of story.  He hasn’t done anything spectacular yet, but just the idea that he can be a plus-level contributor at a position at which Washington has been mostly miserable for a long time seems like a gift.  He could also be the kick returner as well, but that probably still remains to be seen.

Good vibes

Washington played a fun, exciting game, and both the fans and the players were justifiably excited.  It was an utterly meaningless win, mind you, and we’ve seen that preseason win – loss records mean essentially nothing in the regular season, but it’s nevertheless good to see this new era of Washington football off to a good start and have some good energy.