After joint practices last week, the Washington Commanders and Baltimore Ravens will meet at 8 Monday night on ESPN at FedEx Field as they become the last NFL teams to play their second preseason games.
Among the many goals Washington has, one is to end one of sports’ most unusual — if relatively meaningless — streaks. Baltimore hasn’t lost a preseason game since 2015 and has won 24 in a row, an all-time NFL record.
Earlier this season, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said, ““It’s funny because in the big grand scheme of things, OK, people have their opinions, and I get it. Different things are important to different people, and I know that the guys who played in those games, the guys that made the plays to win those games in the fourth quarter – because most of those games were won in the fourth quarter with guys making plays — they’ll remember it. It’s important to them for the rest of their life, and therefore it’s important to me.”
Sam Howell, officially named Washington’s starting quarterback last week, figures to get some action, as should primary backup Jacoby Brissett and third-stringer Jake Fromm.
The Ravens recently added pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney and defensive back Ronald Darby.
Baltimore probably wants to protect standout dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson, so backups Tyler Huntley, Josh Johnson — one of the most-traveled quarterbacks in NFL history — and Anthony Brown are likely to play the bulk of the minutes.
Both teams figure to play almost all backups, and/or players around or below the “cut” lines, in their last preseason games. They will play Saturday, with the Commanders hosting Cincinnati and the Ravens visiting Tampa Bay.
