The Washington Commanders have four wins on the bounce, but the quality of their opponents has left many believing they still haven't faced beaten a good team. That could change on Sunday when they travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens.
And in Baltimore they will have to go against the reigning NFL MVP in quarterback Lamar Jackson – 1,206 yards and nine touchdowns in the air with anothe 363 yards and two TDs on the ground – and running back Derrick Henry – with 572 yards (6.0 per carry) and six touchdowns.
"If your offense puts up points, it doesn't allow them to just run the ball play in and play out," Washington defensive tackle Jon Allen said about Baltimore's rushing duo during his weekly appearance Tuesday with 106.7 The Fan's The Sports Junkies, which is presented exclusively by our partners at MainStreet Bank — Cheer Local. Bank Local. Put Our Team in Your Office. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
Of course, having said that: "Really it's gonna come down to a battle of the line of scrimmage."
"We just have to win the line of scrimmage," Allen told the Junkies. "And I'm so excited and I'm looking forward to that opportunity come Sunday."
Washington last played Baltimore in 2020 – a 31-17 loss in an empty stadium during the Covid-19 pandemic – and Allen's main takeaway from facing the Ravens offense: "The elusiveness of Lamar Jackson."
"The thing that's tough is, you can dominate the line of scrimmage, you can pressure him and you still gotta get him to the ground. He's a playmaker," he said. "We're definitely gonna have our hands full, but we're looking forward to the opportunity."
On the day, Jackson had a 50-yard touchdown run and he threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns.
"He had a good game, I'm not gonna lie," Allen said about the game from four years ago.
Overall, the matchup with the Ravens (3-2) and riding a three-game winning streak is "a good opportunity to see where we're at as a team and as a franchise."
"A game like this hasn't been around too often for this organization," Allen said. "We're excited to put in the work, and put a good product on the field and I'm looking forward to this game."
On the plus side for Allen in preparing to face a punishing 250-pound running back, he told the Junkies that his body feels "probably the best it's ever felt" after five games.
"I mean, you look at how much the offense controls the football, and the reps that we're playing defensively and the rotation that we're having, I mean I'm just not playing the same numbers [of snaps] that I've ever had to in the past so I feel really good," he said.
Allen said his playing time was one of the first things he talked about when the new coaching staff arrived that he was playing too much and he had no issue with that assessment.