Ravens bludgeon Commanders 41-3 in preseason finale, but Tyler Loop misses 2 more field goals

BALTIMORE -- In a preseason finale that was nearly flawless for Baltimore, kicker Tyler Loop gave the Ravens cause for concern.

Loop missed two of his four field goal attempts Friday night, the only real sour note for Baltimore in a dominant 41-3 win over the Washington Commanders. Loop's rookie season ended in heartbreaking fashion when he missed a field goal and cost the Ravens a playoff spot in their final game. He's hoping to rebound from that, but he's had enough struggles that Baltimore may have to consider bringing in some competition.

“You want to see makes in games, and so it's something we'll continue to look at,” coach Jesse Minter said. “We'll continue to look at what the best situation is there. He has had a good camp overall, but again it comes down to making the kicks in the pressure situations in the games.”

Tyler Huntley and Joe Fagnano each threw a touchdown pass in the first half for the Ravens. With deep backups playing for both teams, it's hard to take much from this game, but anyone who bothered to watch saw a one-sided affair. Baltimore finished with a 26-7 edge in first downs, with the Commanders getting three of theirs on the very last drive. The Ravens also had a 456-177 advantage in total yards.

“It does not matter, you guys, who is or isn't playing. What we saw tonight simply was not good enough,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said. “What makes this even harder is knowing what the next couple days look like, and making tough decisions.”

That was a reference to Sunday, when roster cuts are due.

Loop may not have to worry about that, but his job won't seem all that secure unless he becomes more consistent. In fairness, one of his misses Friday was from 58 yards, but the other was from 51, a pretty routine distance these days. He made field goals of 51 and 24 yards to finish 5 of 8 in three exhibition games this year.

“I know the expectation is to make kicks, and it's what we got to do. I have to carry over the ball-striking from pregame and practice, and it's got to happen every time,” he said. “We got two weeks until (the season opener at) Indy, and we're going to be hyper-focused on that. We're headed into the season, stat sheet's clear, and it's time to go.”

Huntley played only the first offensive series Friday and completed all four of his passes, including a 25-yard scoring strike to Chris Moore that made it 7-0.

Then Kaytron Allen fumbled on Washington's first offensive play, gifting the Ravens a short field. Fagnano scored on a 1-yard sneak.

LaJohntay Wester made it 24-0 with 3:46 remaining in the half, reaching back with one arm and hauling in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Fagnano, but Loop's 51-yarder at the end of the second quarter was wide left.

Jonathan Ward's 2-yard TD run made it 31-0 before an interception by Quindell Johnson put the Commanders in field goal range for their first points of the game.

In the fourth, Dontae McMillan broke free for a 63-yard run on his first carry of the game, and then Austin Reed threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Cornelius Johnson for a 41-3 lead. Baltimore won all three of its preseason games.

The Commanders (1-2) didn't have enough offensive plays to get anyone that many touches until late in the game. Athan Kaliakmanis went 7 of 13 for 45 yards. Sam Hartman relieved him and went 9 of 14 for 64 yards. Washington was 1 for 12 on third down.

Robert Henry Jr. had 33 yards on 10 carries and Craig Reynolds had 38 on nine. Lawrence Cager had six catches for 34 yards.

Ward had 53 yards on seven carries for Baltimore and Rasheen Ali had 28 yards on nine attempts. Adam Randall had 25 yards on five carries along with three catches for 45 yards.

Up next

Commanders: Open the season at Philadelphia on Sept. 13.

Ravens: Open at Indianapolis that same day.

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