The Baltimore Ravens will finish with another undefeated preseason, and extended the longest exhibition win streak in NFL history in the process. Baltimore held on to a 17-15 victory over the Washington Commanders Saturday, the Ravens' 23rd consecutive victory in the preseason.
Exhibition games or not, the win streak still counts in the NFL record books.
Baltimore's winning streak began against Carolina in 2016 and has continued for six years -- the longest span for preseason win streaks in league history. Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers teams from 1959 to 1962 previously had the all-time mark before Baltimore surpassed it last year.
"Like I say all the time, 'There's significance and meaning to everything in life,'" Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said after the victory. "The guys that were out there playing, I promise you, it's significant to those guys who played in the game and found a way to win the game."
Harbaugh pointed out the Ravens only played 40 guys at the most, making the last preseason game difficult. He was proud of the effort Baltimore put into preserving the victory and holding off Washington in the final minutes. The Commanders' opportunity to snap the win streak ended when Sam Howell threw an incomplete pass to Matt Cole on fourth-and-6 at Washington's own 36-yard line with 1:27 left.
"It says a lot about those guys," Harbaugh said. "Everyone was tired out there. The Washington players were gassed. It was survival of the fittest at the end there.
"We do talk to the guys about, 'When you get tired, the value of fatigue is in preparation.' So, you have a long practice, a tough practice … Really focus on your execution and your technique towards the end of those practices, and hopefully those guys thought about that out there in the fourth quarter today."
