Don’t look now, but the Washington Commanders have a top-five offense in the NFL going into Week 6.
The Commanders have gone from the league’s latest joke about their name change to being must-see TV. They lead the NFC East, winning four straight games. They reign as the highest-scoring team in the NFL at 31.0 points per game. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has blown past 1,000 yards of passing this season with a passer rating of 106.3. He is also the first player to pass for 1,000 yards and rush for at least 250 yards in his first five games.
Commanders Moving Up, But Facing No.1 Is Next
Even though the Commanders’ offense has become a weekly conversation, their next opponent is the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens have the number one offense in the league, scoring 29.1 points a game. Both teams are mirroring each other in performance, which makes Week 6 one of the Commanders’ biggest tests this season.
Pro Football Talk’s Week 6 Power Rankings also have both teams close. Their rankings have the Commanders at No. 5, up from No. 9, and the Ravens at No.6, up from No.11. When it came to the Commanders, the feedback was, “We’ll learn a lot about this team on Sunday when they visit the next team on the list.” When it came to the Ravens they said, “Pick Your Poison” is both a way to refer to the offense and the title of a poem Edgar Allen Poe never got around to writing.”
Commanders QB Has The Attention of Ravens Head Coach
Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh knows his team is between a rock in a hard place. They cracked the rock, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 41-38. Now comes getting past the hard place: A red-hot Commanders offense with a history-making rookie quarterback. If there’s one positive to find in this for the Ravens, they’ve already faced a Heisman-winning quarterback from LSU. Lamar Jackson is also a Heisman trophy winner, so the level of play is expected to be off the charts.
“He’s been one of the best in the league for five games, so far, as a rookie,” Harbaugh told reporters Monday. “He plays [differently] than Joe Burrow. Every quarterback plays their own unique way. Similarities, differences, there is always that part of it, but we just have to look at him and how he fits into their offense, and [we have to] prepare for their offense – run by him – and that’s a big challenge. I mean, we’ve got our hands full with that.”
Commanders Have Other Rivals Watching
There’s always the rumblings among the Commanders’ fanbase that if the quarterback can beat the Dallas Cowboys, he’s a quarterback worth keeping. The Commanders will face the Cowboys on Nov. 24 at home, but that doesn’t stop their historic rival from watching the reigning NFC East leader.
Cowboys Cornerback Trevon Diggs appeared on The Edge with Micah Parsons and said he thinks Daniels will do well against the Ravens. He said, “I’m for sure think it’s going to get done,” he said.
“He got that swag, that confidence like I know I’m like that, you know?” Diggs also credits how head coach Dan Quinn’s preparation has put the team in a winning position. “Q had us with our confidence through the roof…He’s gonna have you ready to play…you’re going to be ready to crash through a wall.” Quinn had served as the Cowboys’ Defensive Coach before being hired as head coach of the Commanders.
Even former coach Jay Gruden is all in. On Monday, he posted a video of his favorite Jayden Daniels play from Week 5 on X and said “They’re playing at a high level. They’re operating a high level of execution for sure.” Gruden was the Commanders’ head coach from 2014-2019.
Commanders vs. Ravens: A Thought
What’s going to be very interesting is to see how the two teams handle momentum. The Commanders are used to dominating third downs, and the clock. The Ravens have won games, but not by much, while the Commanders have run away with the last three games. If the Ravens cannot stop the Commanders’ offense early, expect Washington to go hard and never look back. It’s what’s winning right now.
