Redskins vs. Ravens: Previewing Baltimore's Preseason Week 3 Matchup

The Baltimore Ravens are back on the field for the all-important third preseason game when they host the Washington Redskins this week. 

The Ravens will be looking to get the bad taste of last week's debacle out of their mouth, after getting embarrassed by the Philadelphia Eagles, 40-17. It was an awful performance all around by Baltimore, as they couldn't get anything going on offense while the defense was repeatedly gashed for big plays.

The good news is this was just the second preseason game, so a bad performance there isn't necessarily an indicator of what's to come in the regular season.

However, Baltimore will need to have a far better showing against Washington this week. The third preseason game is regarded as the dress-rehearsal for most NFL teams.

It's when the starters tend to play for an entire half and sometimes even into the third quarter. That's why it's critical for Baltimore to have a good showing this week as it looks to get its team in sync for the regular season, which is quickly approaching.

Game time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Location: M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland

TV: WBAL-TV in Baltimore

Online Stream: NFL Gamepass

Radio: Sirius XM Radio

Betting Line (via Odds Shark): Ravens (-4)

Latest Injury News

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Breshad Perriman has PCL sprain; MRI comes back clean

The Ravens got bad news on the injury front last week when it was revealed that wide receiver Breshad Perriman had suffered a PCL sprain, according to ESPN's Jamison Hensley. 

The injury, which happened early in training camp, was initially called a bone bruise that wasn't serious. While a PCL sprain isn't necessarily major, it is an injury that could sideline Perriman for a while, and that's unfortunately been the case.

The good news is that Perriman underwent an MRI to make sure there wasn't anything else wrong, which was the case, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Head coach John Harbaugh also added, "There’s just still a little bit of swelling, still a little bit of a sprain. That’s what they call it. We’re just going to keep working on it."

It doesn't sound like Perriman should be out much longer, but in the NFL, you can never be too sure given that coaches sometimes like to keep from revealing the full extent of player injuries.

Ravens concerned about Lardarius Webb missing preseason games

Speaking of which, it didn't seem like Lardarius Webb's hamstring injury suffered early in camp was a big deal. Now, the starting cornerback has missed over two weeks of action, including both preseason games. 

Adding to this is the fact that Webb hasn't played in a preseason game since the 2013 season, after missing all of the 2014 preseason dealing with a back injury. 

That same injury led to Webb missing the first two games of the 2014 regular season and not getting his starting spot back until Week 6. 

As defensive coordinator Dean Pees told ESPN's Jamison Hensley, it's never good to see a player as important as Webb missing so much time. 

"It's certainly a concern," Pees said. "I'd be fooling if I told you that I didn't think it was a concern. I want guys out there practicing, so we can see where they are and know where they are. I hope we get him out here in the next week or so."

Baltimore rarely had their top two corners healthy and playing together last year after fellow starter Jimmy Smith missed the second half of the year with a foot injury. 

It looks like cornerback is once again going to be a major question mark for Baltimore when the regular season opens. 

RB Lorenzo Taliaferro out few weeks with sprained knee

Ravens running back Lorenzo Taliaferro is not having a good preseason as he looks to win the backup spot behind starter Justin Forsett. 

Through two games, Taliaferro has run the ball 16 times for 44 yards for a putrid 2.75 yards per carry. Now, Taliaferro is dealing with a sprained knee suffered against the Philadelphia Eagles in Baltimore's Week 2 preseason game. 

As head coach John Harbaugh told Garrett Downing of BaltimoreRavens.com, it's now time for Baltimore's young running backs to step up with Taliaferro sidelined. 

“Buck Allen, I thought ran the ball really well. [He had] great vision, showed some real elusiveness in there,” Harbaugh said. “Both Magee and [Toussaint] did a heck of a job. They were running hard north-south and really made some guys miss.”

Taliaferro is in danger of falling deep down the depth chart if those other aforementioned backs step up and play well in his absence. 

News and Notes

Dominic DiSaia/Associated Press

Justin Forsett compares Buck Allen to Arian Foster

As mentioned in the previous slide, Lorenzo Taliaferro being out has opened up more playing time for the younger running backs, one of which is Buck Allen.

Drafted in the fourth round out of USC in this year's NFL draft, Allen is the kind of shifty, dual-threat back Baltimore needed behind Justin Forsett to make the ground game even better.

Allen has already flashed this offseason during OTAs and training camp, but he hasn't done much through two preseason games, with just 17 runs for 54 yards (3.2 yards per carry). 

However, Allen hasn't gotten much time with the first-team offense, which has helped prevent him from flashing in games the way he has in practice.

Forsett has seen what Allen can do up close. As he told ESPN's Jamsion Hensely, comparing Allen's game to that of Pro Bowl running back Arian Foster, "He kind of reminds me a lot of Arian Foster with his stride length, decision-making and his cutting."

It just so happens Forsett played with Foster, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, for one year in Houston during the 2012 season. Hearing him offer that kind of praise for a rookie is a very encouraging sign.

Let's see if Allen can follow it up with a big performance in his third preseason game now that he has his NFL feet under him and should be getting more run with the starting offense. 

NFL says Terrell Suggs' hit on Sam Bradford was legal

During last week's 40-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs hit quarterback Sam Bradford low as he was handing the ball off on what appeared to be a read-option play.

When such plays are run, the QB is fair game to hit—at least that's what Suggs thought. He was still called a dirty player by the Eagles for the hit, which happened to come against Bradford who is coming off a torn ACL from last year. 

The NFL doesn't agree with Philadelphia, though, as they said in a statement that Suggs' hit on Bradford was legal. 

During an interview on the NFL Network, vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said the play was not a foul. The QB is considered a runner in this case, because he was running what was deemed a read-option play. 

There's no questioning the fact that Suggs is a player who likes to play on the edge, but calling him a dirty player in this instance was a bad call by Philadelphia. 

Key Players and Matchups to Watch

Michael Perez/Associated Press

As mentioned earlier, Week 3 of the preseason is a dress rehearsal for many NFL teams heading into the regular season. Here is a look at which Ravens players and units are not only key to winning this game, but also will be pivotal to the team's success in 2015. 

TE Maxx Williams 

The Ravens traded up to select Maxx Williams in the second round of this year's NFL draft in hopes he could become their starting tight end as a rookie.

After Dennis Pitta was placed on the PUP list, the starting tight end spot became Williams' to lose, and he's done a good job with it thus far.

Through two preseason games, Williams has caught five passes for 61 yards. While that's nothing to brag about, that would project to around 40 catches for 488 yards over a 16-game season.

That would be a good showing for a rookie, but this week will see him likely getting a lot more snaps than he has in his first two preseason games.

Let's see if he gets a lot of run with the starters and how he performs while also going against Washington's starting defense. 

DL Timmy Jernigan

The Ravens are counting on Timmy Jernigan to become a full-time starter along their 3-4 defensive line, after he had a promising rookie season. That helped lead to Baltimore trading star lineman Haloti Ngata this offseason in hopes Jernigan could help replace him. 

However, a foot injury suffered in training camp led to him missing a few weeks before returning to action last week. Jernigan didn't do much though in Baltimore's 40-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, notching just one tackle. 

This week, he will be going against a Redskins offensive line that allowed the second-most sacks in 2014 (58). Jernigan should at least get a few hits in on the QB. 

He needs to have a big game this week to show he's capable of making a positive impact as a full-time starter in 2015. 

Ravens pass defense vs. Redskins passing offense

Baltimore's pass defense was the team's Achilles' heel in 2014, and it ultimately prevented a deeper playoff run being made. Injuries were the primary culprit then, and they've once again made this position a question mark heading into the regular season.

Starting corner Lardarius Webb has missed most of training camp and the preseason to this point with a hamstring injury. Jimmy Smith missed the first preseason while being eased back into the lineup after missing most of last year with his foot injury. 

Smith didn't look good against the Eagles last week, as they rang up 40 points in a beatdown of Baltimore. Stopping the pass will once again be key this week against a Washington offense that ranked No. 4 in passing yards per attempt (8.2) in 2014. 

It's an offense with enough playmakers to burn Baltimore's passing defense for big plays if the Ravens don't play significantly better than they did last week—or for much of 2014 for that matter.

Prediction

Larry French/Getty Images

Baltimore will be looking for blood in this one after getting embarrassed by Philadelphia last week. 

It was as poor of an effort as the team has shown since John Harbaugh became head coach in 2008. He's not going to allow his team to toss out back-to-back clunkers, so expect them to approach this game like a regular-season matchup. 

The starters get an early lead on Washington thanks to a balanced attack by the offense that features several big passes from Joe Flacco as he picks apart the Redskins' poor secondary. 

The Ravens don't let up as the backups and third-stringers come in and keep pounding Washington with big plays through the air. Baltimore takes a commanding lead early in the second half that only looks smaller after a late garbage-time touchdown by Washington. 

Overall, this game will be a dominating effort by Baltimore that gets the bad taste of last week out of its mouth and gives it some positive momentum heading into the regular season. 

Prediction: Ravens 31, Redskins 20