Practical notes | Commanders downplay the idea that the Ravens are a “benchmark.”

The commanders are aware of how respected the Ravens organization has become over the years. They also know what will happen if they can beat a respected team that many keep predicting will go to the Super Bowl. There will be even more hype surrounding the team, and the national conversation will revolve around how far Washington can go not only in the regular season but beyond.

Still, commanders insist on treating this week the same as the previous five. You want to focus on yourself, and there's a reason for that. They know that if they can do their job, protect the ball and get takeaways, they have a good chance of another away win.

“Every team is good, so we’re going to really focus on the details and try to improve on what we did last week,” cornerback Benjamin St-Juste said.

For players like Jonathan Allen, who has guided the team through some of its worst seasons, it's exciting that the Commanders are heading into a game that is the subject of broader national discussion. It represents how far the team has come in the last month, but it doesn't distract Allen from seeing how far he and his teammates still have to go.

“I try not to get up or leave for games,” Allen said. “I'm excited. I’m looking forward to the opportunity and will make sure I’m ready to play.”

And as for the fact that the matchup between the Commanders and the Ravens is considered the league's “Game of the Week,” the players are staying out of that discussion.

“That’s something the league has to figure out,” Daniels said. “Other people can talk about that. For us, man, we just go out and just play a football game. That happened to be our next opponent. So we're going to focus on that week over the week trying to get better to execute the game plan on Sunday.