Plenty of chill
Ravens prepare for freezing temperatures at home vs. Falcons
Two years ago, the Ravens traveled to Gillette Stadium for a long, cold night. It wasn’t pouring in Foxborough, Massachusetts, when the Patriots kicked off, but quarter by quarter, things got worse — the rain, the wind, the state of the Ravens’ offense.
Center Trystan Colon was a rookie then. “It was raining sideways, cold as [crap],” he recalled after practice Thursday. “It was awful.” And, being a rookie, he believed himself unworthy of certain privileges — among them, crucially, the cape coats players cover themselves with in cold-weather games. There were enough for everyone, he said, but he couldn’t possibly take one. He wasn’t playing. “It’s not for me,” he thought.
Then Colon started to shiver and shake with a bone-deep cold. Ravens center Matt Skura was struggling with his snaps, and offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris was telling Colon to get ready, just in case. He tried to warm up. It was too late. Colon didn’t play a snap in the 23-17 loss. Next time, his veteran teammates told him, “Don’t be stupid.”
The Ravens can’t take any chances Saturday, not with a potentially historic arctic chill approaching Baltimore. According to the National Weather Service’s forecast as of Thursday night, their 1 p.m. game against the Atlanta Falcons will kick off with a temperature of about 21 degrees and wind chill values of about 7 degrees. The coldest home game in Ravens history, a devastating 31-27 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in their 2017 season finale, was 19 degrees at kickoff, with a wind chill of 10 degrees.
“We embrace the challenge and we expect to play in poor conditions and play in cold weather and all of that stuff because we play outside in the Mid-Atlantic,” kicker Justin Tucker said. “So some of that we just have to embrace. We
Ahead of the Commanders’ loss to the New York Giants on Sunday night at FedEx Field,
Young met with James Andrews, his orthopedic surgeon, and was assured his knee was fine.
“I think seeing Dr. Andrews was probably the last, final thing just to get him over the hump,” Rivera said Thursday. “[Young] practiced with confidence. He showed us he was willing to stick that leg in the ground and roll off if it, plant it and cut off of it.”
Rivera said he noticed a difference in Young throughout the week of practice, which was lighter because of the short turnaround.
Young is slated to play limited snaps Saturday to minimize the risk of reinjury.
“We’ll just take him through the actions and see how he handles it,” Rivera said.
Young said Wednesday that he “definitely” felt different this week.
“I want to play with my brothers who are out there fighting,” he said.
Washington’s defensive line has improved markedly since Young was last in the lineup. The starters — Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen on the interior, with Montez Sweat and James Smith-Williams, Young’s replacement, on the edge — have totaled 26 sacks (third most in the NFL), 164 pressures (tied for the second most) and four takeaways.
Their success allowed Washington to take it slow with Young and not rush him back. But the gravity of Saturday’s game created more urgency.
Sunday’s loss to the Giants put the Commanders (7-61) in a precarious position as they push for a playoff berth. Entering Week 16, they hold the seventh and final postseason spot in the NFC, a half-game ahead of Seattle (7-7) and Detroit (7-7). A win over the 49ers (10-4), who have clinched the NFC West, would improve their chances significantly before they host the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys to close the season. A loss would significantly dampen Washington’s playoff hopes.
“We need all hands on deck,” Rivera said Monday. “This is what you live for. This is the crunchtime of it, and you got to want to be there and got to want to be part of it and do whatever you can to get on the field.”
Other injuries
The Commanders ruled out offensive lineman Saahdiq Charles for Saturday and listed safety Kam Curl and cornerback Benjamin St-Juste as questionable with ankle injuries.
St-Juste said earlier in the week that he planned to play after missing the past three games.
Curl is more of a concern; he was limited in practice Tuesday and Wednesday. Should he be unable to go, Rivera said the Commanders plan to take a committee approach, relying on Jeremy Reaves and rookie Percy Butler to help fill the void. To add depth on the offensive line, Washington activated guard Wes Martin from the practice squad and released linebacker De’Jon Harris.