Baltimore Ravens vs Washington Football Team Point Spread Picks

The battle for D.C. features a huge difference in talent. Washington's offense is #29 in total yards with the fourth-worst passing attack behind young QB Dwayne Haskins Jr (4 TDs, 3 picks). The defense has given up 30 and 34 points the last two weeks to drop to #21 against the run (125 yards per game) while allowing 27 points per contest. NFL teams off a game with a minus-3 turnover margin or worse are 59-107 ATS in the next game. Baltimore won't be in a good mood after suffering its first loss to the defending champions. The Ravens are still third in the NFL in points allowed (18.7 pg), while the offense is fifth in points (30.3 pg). Baltimore is on a 60-41 ATS run on the road, including 34-16 ATS away after gaining 150 or fewer passing yards. They are also an excellent bounce-back team under this coaching staff, 20-7 ATS on the road after getting outgained by 100-plus total yards in the previous game. Play Baltimore.

Baltimore has won 16 (13-2 ATS) preseason games in a row and coach John Harbaugh has made no secret of the fact that he wants to them all. The Ravens won a lightning-shortened game last week 26-15 over the Eagles although it didn't count as an ATS win because it didn't get to the five-minute mark. Rookie Trace McSorley threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score while starter Lamar Jackson did not play. The Ravens are 6-0 ATS in Week Four the last six preseasons and they beat the Redskins 30-20 in last year's final preseason game. Harbaugh is 36-12 straight-up and 32-14-1 ATS in exhibition play. Washington broke through with a win over the Falcons after losing its first two games. Coach Jay Gruden now is 13-10 straight-up and 12-11 ATS in preseason. Rookie QB Dwayne Haskins led the Redskins to three scoring drives and finished 7-of-13 for 74 yards with no interceptions. Case Keenum completed 9-of-14 for 101 yards and no touchdowns. If Jackson doesn't play again, Baltimore has shown it can put points on the board with McSorley. Play the Ravens and the OVER.

Baltimore suddenly has depth at quarterback and the Ravens will be playing their fifth preseason game due to their appearance in the Hall of Fame game. The Ravens come off a 27-10 win over Miami and even though Joe Flacco didn't play, Lamar Jackson was effective completing 7-of-10 passes for 98 yards with a touchdown and Robert Griffin III contributed 9-of-15 for 66 yards and even Josh Woodrum went 3-of-5 for 47 yards. Also, the running game was in full gear as the Ravens gained 223 yards on the ground on 5.3 yards per carry featuring rookie De'Lance Turner out of Alcorn State rushing for 75 yards on five attempts, including a 65-yard touchdown run. Washington did not get much from the quarterback position in its loss to Denver, however, Adrian Peterson made his Redskins debut and gained 56 yards on 11 carries and figures to get more work on Thursday.  Baltimore is a threat to score even going three deep at the QB position and this is a low posted total. Play the OVER.

Washington is not going to risk QB Kirk Cousins much this game, if at all, and the backups are Colt McCoy and Nate Sudfeld. Washington loaded up on defensive talent and depth in the offseason, using its first three picks on defensive players; DT Jonathan Allen (Alabama), LB Ryan Anderson (Alabama), and CB Fabian Moreau (UCLA). And the Redskins' defensive linemen have been working on their boxing skills this camp! They hope it will translate to improved technique in the trenches, focusing on a more physical unit. Healthy again after missing the past two seasons, Junior Galette is confident he can return to being a dominant pass-rusher for the Redskins, and is having a good camp. The coaching staff has shown little in Week 1 of August, getting 17 points indoors at Atlanta a year ago with only 155 yards passing and 79 rushing (3.3 yards per carry). And in 2015, the defense allowed 17 points or less in every preseason game. In fact, they've allowed 17 or less in seven of their last eight August contests. Baltimore QB Joe Flacco will miss this game with a back injury. They can't risk playing backup QB Ryan Mallett too much, and beyond him the Ravens have QBs Dustin Vaughan and Josh Woodrum. Baltimore's defense has been ahead of the offense regularly in preseason, allowing 15 points per game last August. All of which means more defense than offense in this one. Play UNDER the total here.