The Good and Not So Good From Commanders vs. Ravens Joint Practice

Seeking a more competitive evaluation, the Washington Commanders traveled to Baltimore on Wednesday for joint practice with the Ravens. Once there, Washington faced a substantially tougher team than the one they faced when the Miami Dolphins visited Ashburn. The day had an odd flow: Baltimore's defensive front created consistent issues for the Commanders' offense, but then they flipped it, and Mike Sainristil helped close practice by intercepting a pass from Lamar Jackson during the final two-minute period. Then Jayden Daniels answered with a touchdown to Antonio Williams, who continues to show flashes of something really big to come. This wasn't the cleanest practice, but it fit exactly the type of difficult evaluation head coach Dan Quinn was looking for.

The Good

Washington may not have owned most of the practice, but they certainly owned the ending. Baltimore moved into the red zone during the final two-minute period before Sainristil went up and intercepted Jackson, ending what looked like a scoring drive. The offense then got its opportunity and faced fourth down against an all-out Ravens blitz. Daniels stood in with pressure coming and found Williams downfield for a touchdown. It was a strong response from a team that had spent plenty of the day fighting through adversity.

FROZONE 🥶@SeatGeek | @MikeSainristil pic.twitter.com/9zdXlY4B0r
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) August 26, 2026

Williams didn't wait until the final play to make his presence felt. During one-on-one work, he beat safety Kyle Hamilton off the line and created separation for another impressive rep. Williams has consistently taken advantage of opportunities throughout camp, and Wednesday was another example of why he continues to find himself near the top of the receiver conversation. Beating Hamilton and finishing practice with a touchdown is exactly the type of day a guy fighting for a bigger role needs this late in August.

Sonny Styles also continued to show why Washington is so excited about him. Styles stayed with a tight end step-for-step during one-on-one work and broke up the pass, once again showing the coverage ability Quinn praised when talking about him Tuesday. Styles has the speed and quickness to do things at linebacker that not everybody at the position can do, and those traits continued to show against Baltimore.

Washington also got some good work from the interior of its defensive line against Derrick Henry. Charles Omenihu and Javon Kinlaw both had reps where they slowed Henry down and allowed the rest of the defense to rally. With Odafe Oweh and K'Lavon Chaisson still unavailable, getting those types of wins against Baltimore's running game mattered.

Commanders O-Line vs. Ravens D-Line

Brandon Coleman, Josh Conerly Jr., Matt Gulbis and Andrew Wylie reps.

The big fellas in the trenches getting after it pic.twitter.com/NDUiIbM2Ed
— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) August 26, 2026

The Not So Good

There is no way around this one: Washington's offensive line had a rough day.

The Commanders were already without Nick Allegretti before Sam Cosmi missed Wednesday's practice with an illness. Washington shuffled players around and tried different combinations, but Baltimore's defensive front consistently created problems during team work. Daniels was forced to come off deeper concepts and get to his checkdowns several times because pressure arrived before routes could develop. Multiple plays would have ended in sacks had this been a real game.

Brandon Coleman and Chris Paul had some positive moments during one-on-one drills, and those reps deserve mention. Coleman was able to force a rusher around the pocket, while Paul picked up wins of his own. Still, winning individual reps doesn't matter nearly as much as keeping Daniels clean when all 11 guys are on the field. That is where Washington struggled Wednesday.

Commanders LT Brandon Coleman providing his assessment on how the joint practice went.

BC said about the practice, "there's s*** I want back, but you can't have s*** back in the season. So getting on that now, correcting that s***. We got to do that." pic.twitter.com/FBiznkaOhu
— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) August 26, 2026

It's also another reminder of why the Commanders continue looking for answers along the offensive line this late in the summer. The recent addition of D.J. Humphries gives them another veteran option, but Wednesday showed just how quickly things can get uncomfortable when starters aren't available.

Washington's pass rush didn't have nearly the same type of success against Jackson that it did during the joint practice against Miami. Missing Oweh and Chaisson obviously matters, and Jackson presents a challenge unlike almost anybody else at the position, but the starting defense struggled to consistently affect him. The backups found more success once Tyler Huntley entered, but Washington would certainly like to see more pressure from the group surrounding its top edge rushers when those guys aren't available.

Daniels said afterward that it "wasn't the best day we could have had," and that's probably the easiest way to describe Wednesday. Baltimore exposed some things Washington still needs to clean up, particularly along the offensive line, which is exactly why Quinn wanted this type of practice before the regular season. Still, there is something to be said for how the Commanders finished. Sainristil took the ball away from Jackson, and Daniels answered by standing in against pressure and finding Williams for six. Washington didn't have its best day, but it made sure Baltimore didn't get the last word.

Sheeeeeeeesh pic.twitter.com/Q5jXzGLcFf
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 26, 2026

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