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Baltimore Ravens vs. Washington Redskins: Preview and Prediction

By Joe Serpico

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Hope you are ready to get a glimpse of what your 2015 Baltimore Ravens will look like as they take on the Washington Redskins at M&T Bank Stadium tonight.

It will be a preview of how the Ravens plan to operate this season as John Harbaugh plans for his starters to play the majority of tonight’s third preseason game. There will be adjustments as the season goes along because of injures and game planning for certain teams, but this is essentially the dress rehearsal for the 2015 season.

One thing to watch for will be how the run-pass ratio plays out with Marc Trestman getting his first extensive work with the first-team offense. Baltimore has always been a team that has ran the ball, but Trestman likes to air it out. Joe Flacco is coming off a two interception game his last time out and likely wants to make up for that. This could be a recipe for a lot of passes thrown tonight. 

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As highlighted in the five keys to a Ravens victory, the Ravens receivers must take advantage of this opportunity of playing a secondary that’s been injured for most of the preseason. Several guys are battling for not only playing time, but roster spots in this game.

What remains to be seen is how long the coaches decide to leave Flacco in the game. The Ravens are shorthanded along the offensive line and while Flacco has never missed a game in his NFL career, there is no reason to risk that from happening.

As always, the key will be to escape this game free of injury. The Ravens are already dealing with injuries throughout the roster and can’t afford anymore tonight. That’s why it would behoove them to limit Flacco’s snaps behind a weak offensive line.

Prediction:

The Ravens are coming off a very disappointing game against the Philadelphia Eagles and you better believe Harbaugh will have his guys ready to go out of the gate. Baltimore has generally responded after bad games with strong bounce back efforts.

The Redskins will be without Robert Griffin III with a concussion so it will be Kirk Cousins under center for Jay Gruden’s offense. The change at quarterback slightly alters the defensive plans as they no longer need to prepare for the threat of a QB with mobility. Cousins is the classic drop back quarterback which will allow the Ravens defense to attack rather than contain.

The offense was very disappointing the last time out and Flacco wants to put up points in this game. It might be tough to get yards on the ground with the Skins stingy defense so expect the Ravens to attack them through the air. Flacco will come out firing and the offense will be in much better shape tonight.

This is a game that the Ravens should win. A loss against a backup quarterback could be demoralizing entering the regular season. That shouldn’t be the case, however, as Baltimore cleans up the miscues and takes it to the Redskins. The first-team offense puts 17 on the board and the D holds Washington to a field goal. The Ravens depth then takes over and lets up a meaningless touchdown late.

Next: Five Keys to a Ravens Victory

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