Baltimore Ravens vs Washington Commanders Point Spread Picks

Jayden Daniels will not see the field Friday. Dan Quinn has already said the Commanders did their real evaluating of Daniels and the other starters at Wednesday’s joint practice with Baltimore, treating the actual preseason game as an afterthought by comparison. Lamar Jackson is out for the Ravens too, and new head coach Jesse Minter has kept him out of every one of these lower-stakes preseason games. Baltimore’s snaps figure to go mostly to Joe Fagnano, an undrafted rookie who has actually outplayed the more established Tyler Huntley over the first two games and is still fighting to make the 53-man roster, while Huntley’s own spot is already secured on a two-year deal. With both marquee quarterbacks out and Baltimore’s answer at the position still auditioning for a job, the gap between these rosters shrinks to almost nothing, and getting better than a field goal in a game decided by camp arms and bubble players is the right side of the number. Take Washington ATS.

Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson left practice this week with a wrist injury, so don't expect to see him in this meaningless finale. QBs Cooper Rush and Devin Leary will run the offense. It's their second straight road game, and at 2-0, the Ravens have nothing to prove. In last year's Week 3 finale, Baltimore showed nothing in its only road game, a 30-7 loss at Green Bay. They've also lost three of their last four preseason road contests, giving up 30, 26, and 29 points. Washington has more interest in playing well. Not only are they home, but they come off losses to the Patriots and Bengals. After starting 0-2 in last year's preseason, Washington came home and played well in a 20-10 Week 3 victory over New England. The wagering value is on the home team to win a high-scoring game. Play Washington on the moneyline + OVER the total. 

Jayden Daniels has been getting all the publicity as he's having a sensational rookie season so far, but Washington's defense also has been a key factor in its 4-1 start. The Commanders have held their past two opponents to only 13.5 points per game and they dominated the Browns, holding Cleveland to 212 yards in last week's 34-13 win. Baltimore has played one of the toughest schedules in the league and was allowing 22 points per game before Sunday's 41-38 overtime win over Cincinnati. The Ravens have gone UNDER five of six times in Week 6 and the Commanders are 6-0 UNDER in Week 6. The situation lends itself to more of a defensive battle than a fireworks show, and teams in Washington's spot are 42-10 UNDER (81%) in the past five seasons. Take the UNDER.