Ravens Need A New Kicker, And 5 Other Key Takeaways From Blowout Preseason Win

Ravens rookie coach Jesse Minter scratched every key player possible, but kicker Tyler Loop had to play and he needs some competition ASAP

Aug 28, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) connects on an extra point during the first quarter against the Washington Commanders at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Ravens barely played anyone they expect to see the field in heavy doses all summer long.

But you have to play your specialists. And if the reason they refused to bring in a proven NFL kicker was because they wanted to give Tyler Loop every possible opportunity to show what he could do, well they got their answer in a big way Friday night.

There isn’t a whole lot to be gleaned from Baltimore’s absolute thrashing of Washington to cap a perfect preseason schedule, 41-3 at M&T Bank Stadium. Rookie head coach Jesse Minter’s uber-conservative deployment of players (third-round pick Ja’Kobi Lane joined the host of healthy scratches) rendered this largely a battle for practice squad spots, but some individuals continued to help themselves, as we’ll get to, and kicker Tyler Loop absolutely must have opened the door for a significant signing over the weekend.

Here as the key takeaways from the preseason finale:

Kicker Competition

Loop again missed his first game of the game in this stadium, as he did his first of this preseason. From 58 or not, he continues to pull kicks to the left or push them to the right, and this wasn’t close. Loop missed another field goal at the end of the half, his kickoffs have been problematic dating back to last season and this team has too much at stake not to bring in someone with a better NFL pedigree to compete in practice for this job … at the very least.

We’ve been begging them to bring in Matt Prater or someone like that since the start of the offseason. And again after the first pre-season game. And there will likely be more competition now that we have reached final cuts, but one of these guys should be on a plane here real soon. Missing from 51 to end the half speaks volumes here – two misses clustered in the first half, I’m not bringing in someone on this trajectory into Week 1, and especially not without serious competition.

Dominant Defense

Minter couldn’t have asked for anything more than what he got out of his side of the ball all summer long. This unit was fast and ferocious and back-ups or not, they swallowed up pretty much everyone they faced. Un-drafted rookie linebacker Ethan Burke forced another fumble – this time on the defense’s first snap of the game – and the rout was on.

Unlike the offense, they avoided penalties yet again, they put pressure on the Commanders and once again they were barely on the field with all the three-and-outs. If you drill down on the first half of these three games (before the deepest subs hit the field on either side), you get some ridiculous stats:

First Half Defense – Preseason

Points Allowed: 3               Yards/Half: 108                   3rd/4th Down Conv: 3/19

Plays/Drive: 4          `           Yds/Rush: 3.1                      QB Rtg: 77.1

Under Center Revolution

Rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle is trying to hold some thing back, for sure. But we told you under center was going to be the norm here and far less pistol and gun. Doyle used under center play action bootleg passes to tight ends with quarterbacks Tyler Huntley and Joe Fagnano to kickstart drives. He has leaned heavily into it, and preached the footwork and timing, and it’s been an absolute weapon for the Ravens. And it will be a cheat code for Lamar Jackson (watch Sean Payton, whose offense Doyle is running, explain why here).

Huntley and Fagnano under center in this game combined to go 10/13 for 95 yards.

Huntley and Fagnano under center in the preseason: 27/32 for 301 yards.

Wowsa.

No Average Joe

This kid QB is just calm and steady. Fagnano was the find of the preseason for this team. The undrafted passer out of UCONN (and Maine before that) missed a few high-percentage throws he would want back, and he had a few big gains denied by penalties. But damn was he solid and efficient again.

Yeah, 25 is older for a rookie, but this is someone with NFL back-up potential. He threaded a touchdown pass to LaJohntay Wester (great summer for him), knowing he couldn’t lead him with a defender there and a tight window between them. He’s found third options on some plays and is incredibly adroit and taking what the defense gives him.

I don’t think someone else would try to steal him from landing on Baltimore’s practice quad but I guess you never know. It's not like the ball is being pushed all over the fied and a bunch of QBs are about to be cut.

Fagnano finished the preseason 56-for-75 (75%) for 509 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT. Keeping him in their quarterback room is imperative and he could not have taken more advantage of veteran Skylar Thompson going to IR.

OL Iffy

I don’t love the depth on this offense line at all. They got beat up really bad in Minnesota last week and this was a blowout and all, but a lot of things went Baltimore’s way (amazing field position, turnovers, Washington’s back-ups stink). Ehtan Pocic got a run at center to try to ensure he is in game shape for Week 1, but aint no way Jovaughn Gwyn is starting over him.

This group struggled early and penalties at the line of scrimmage were a big issue the last two weeks. We had false starts, and holds, and an unnecessary downfield penalty from Pocic. Adding a veteran swing tackle would make a lot of sense to me and it’s something we’ve been writing about since the early offseason.

Adam Randall Rocks And Rolls

The fifth-round pick is going to show up in the passing game of this offense right away, we strongly believe. Payton’s offense puts a lot of import on having a “Joker” who can win internally and on the perimeter as a hybrid RB/TE/FB. Payton believes this kid is totally cut out for it.

Randall focused on pass protection and running the ball in the first pre-season game - he only played halfback in college one season and the rest at receiver – and missed last week with a minor injury. He came back in a big way Friday, got a nice run in the first half, and got to show everything he can do.

Randall accounted for 70 scrimmage yards, he ran five times for 25 yards and was excellent in the screen game. Fagnano was a little off targeting him wide open, or he could have legit had 100 scrimmage yards in limited duty (22 snaps).

Subscribe To "The Daily Flock" For Urgent Ravens Coverage And Conversations