The first time Lamar Jackson threw a pass downfield Sunday, the Ravens quarterback had to do a little bit of everything: Drop back, locate the open receiver, hit him in the hands, tackle the defensive back who’d intercepted the tipped ball.

You know, the usual.

“Obviously, starting like that isn’t good,” said tight end (and target) Mark Andrews, who watched as Washington Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil grabbed Jackson’s slightly off-line throw and ran it back to near midfield. “That’s not the way you want to start with the first pass thrown to you.”

If there were any bone-deep, decades-in-the-making groans bouncing around M&T Bank Stadium early in the first quarter — Can we please get our quarterback some real help? — the Ravens brushed them off as easily as they did man-to-man coverage and stacked boxes Sunday. In a 30-23 win over the upstart Commanders, Jackson again looked the part of a three-time NFL Most Valuable Player, yes, but his skill position players were more propellers than passengers on perhaps the NFL’s best offense.

Ravens wide receivers combined for 13 catches on 13 targets for 203 yards. Ravens tight ends caught five passes for 93 yards and Jackson’s one touchdown. Ravens running backs rushed for 134 rushing yards (5.4 per carry) and two touchdowns. Jackson (323 passing yards and 40 rushing yards) was the conductor of a beautiful offensive orchestra, in sync with almost every chord played.

“I just think it’s great,” said running back Derrick Henry, who had 24 carries for 132 yards (5.5 per carry) and the two scores. “You have so many guys that can make plays. A lot of guys are getting chances to get the ball and being able to showcase their talents, and that’s what you want as an offense, is everybody being dynamic, having playmakers who can make plays on any side of the field. … It’s just been fun. I’m glad to see everybody putting in the hard work.”

The Commanders entered Sunday as something of an easy mark. Washington had the NFL’s No. 24 defense, according to FTN’s efficiency metrics, and fit the exact specifications of another crash test dummy for the Ravens’ revved-up attack: a smaller run defense, questionable cornerbacks, slow off-ball linebackers. Then the Commanders lost Dorance Armstrong, their top defensive end, to a first-half injury. Then they lost Jonathan Allen, their top defensive tackle, to a second-half injury.

All of which meant the Ravens, with few exceptions, could do as they pleased Sunday. They averaged 7.4 yards per play, above their NFL-leading average. They churned out explosives (20 plays of 10-plus yards). They had two 90-plus-yard touchdown drives. They converted on third down (6-for-10). They punted just once, and only in that strangely low-scoring first quarter.

With every march into Commanders territory, the Ravens left little doubt about their skill position superiority. They had the game’s best wide receiver, Zay Flowers, who had nine catches on nine targets for a career-high 132 yards. They had the game’s best tight end, Andrews, who rebounded from the early interception to finish with three catches for a season-high 66 yards, including a third-and-long touchdown. They had the game’s best running back, Henry, who sent thousands of Commanders fans to the exits with a 27-yard run late in the fourth quarter.

Afterward, Jackson demurred when asked whether this offense, which has averaged a league-leading 471.8 yards per game since Week 3, was the NFL’s best. But he acknowledged that this might be his most balanced unit yet. Jackson, Andrews and Henry all referred to the attack the same way afterward: “Pick your poison.”

“I just feel like we’re good at what we have to do,” Flowers said. “If we have to run the ball, we’re going to run the ball. If we have to pass it, that’s what we’re going to do. And if we have to do both, like we did today, then that’s what we have to do.”

A more pedestrian roster might not have been enough Sunday. That seemed to be the Commanders’ hope all along. Jackson faced man-to-man coverage on 15 of his 28 drop-backs, according to TruMedia, Washington daring the Ravens to make a play before its pass rush got home.

It typically did not. Jackson went 11-for-14 for 131 yards against man coverage, finding receivers who were uncovered with ease. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, the average separation for a receiver at the catch point this season is 2.96 yards. Andrews averaged 4.69 yards of separation Sunday. Bateman, who had four catches on four targets for a season-high 71 yards, averaged 4.5 yards of separation, and Flowers 3.2 yards.

“Personally, definitely, my best game,” Bateman said. “But it’s not about me. It’s about the team. And I think we all came out and played really good football today. We still got a lot of things to clean up, but I think we’re trending [in] the right direction right now.”

Even Henry, who averaged under 6 yards per carry for the first time since Week 2, was quietly efficient. His 132 rushing yards were 34 more than expected, according to NGS, his fourth game this season in which he finished with more than 30 over expected.

Their combined efforts helped lead the Ravens’ Jackson-led offense to a milestone moment. Over his six-plus seasons in Baltimore, Jackson had engineered scores of big rushing performances. He’d carved up plenty of pass defenses. But until Sunday Jackson had never finished a game with over 200 passing yards to wide receivers and a running back having over 100 rushing yards. The load is still Jackson’s to carry, but the Ravens no longer ask him to shoulder as much for as long.

“We’ve got Mark, Zay …” Jackson started to answer one question about the offense, rattling off the names of nine skill position players in all, along with a shout-out to the offensive line, just for good measure. “We’ve got guys who want to work, who want to win, and that’s just pretty much what is showing out there.”

Injuries have left the Ravens’ offense largely untouched, but there is hope that Jackson and his playmakers are only just getting started. Henry gets better over the pounding of a long season. Bateman’s chemistry with Jackson has improved by leaps and bounds since the summer. Flowers, who entered Week 5 with one career 100-yard receiving game, has recorded two in a row. Andrews is looking more and more like his old, dominant self. Tight end Isaiah Likely and running back Justice Hill have both had standout games.

With a much-improved line carving out running lanes and keeping Jackson well protected, coordinator Todd Monken could have an offense that leads the NFL in nightmare fuel. A long season is still ahead, plenty of time for defenses to probe the Ravens’ weaknesses — and for the Ravens to harness new strengths.

“There’s always room for improvement,” Jackson said. “It’s only, like, our sixth game.”