Derrick Henry sliced through the Washington Commanders' defense on second-and-5, running unopposed seven yards to the end zone to put the Baltimore Ravens up two scores near the end of the third quarter.

It was unfamiliar territory for the Commanders, who had been on the other side of running away with games for the past month. For the first time since Week 1, the Burgundy & Gold were down two scores on the road against a team many believe have a shot of playing in the Super Bowl. It wasn't over -- yet -- but the road to coming out of Baltimore with a victory became much more arduous.

Dan Quinn and his staff learned much about their team during their four-game winning streak. Jayden Daniels seems to be the answer at quarterback; their offense can compete with anyone; and the defense, which had a rough start to the season, is coming along, albeit at a slower rate.

And there was still plenty to learn about the team from their 30-23 loss to the Ravens. The biggest lesson: as impressive as it is that they have grown so much in such a short time, more is still required to beat, rather than simply compete against, the NFL's top teams.

In what was widely viewed as their most difficult test to this point in the season, the Commanders (4-2) stepped up to meet the challenge at several points throughout the afternoon. Despite going down two scores with just 17 minutes of game play left, Washington still gave itself a chance to win, thanks to Daniels and the offense finding way to keep plays alive. Daniels, who had 269 passing yards with two touchdowns, went 5-of-7 on Washington's ensuing drive, hitting Terry McLaurin on fourth down to pull back within a touchdown.

But while they only punted three times in the afternoon, the Commanders' miscues weighed heavily on the outcome. Like the rest of the Ravens' opponents, they couldn't get their run game going with Brian Robinson out nursing a knee injury and were held to just 52 yards on 18 carries.

Both Daniels and Quinn discussed missed opportunities, starting with having to settle for a field goal on their opening drive where Mike Sainristil came up with his, and the defense's, first interception of the season. Two of the Commanders' punts were followed by touchdowns, including the run by Henry that made the score 27-13.

The Commanders' offense still managed to look like itself at times. They responded to the Ravens' first touchdown -- a three-yard run by Henry, who finished the day with 132 yards -- with an eight-play, 70-yard drive that featured Daniels firing an eight-yard shot to McLaurin on third-and-6. The two finished the drive five plays later with a seven-yard touchdown that tied it up, 10-10.

The two connected again with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. The Commanders were facing a fourth-and-goal at the Ravens' 6-yard line, and Daniels fit a pass to McLaurin in a tight window near the left corner of the end zone.

Those moments, however, were not enough to overshadow how the Ravens were able to come up big in moments on a more consistent basis. They had their mistakes, of course, starting with the Sainristil interception that came off a pass from Lamar Jackson intended for Mark Andrew that was a little too far outside the tight end's reach. The Commanders also forced a punt from the Ravens in the second quarter, thanks in part to an 11-yard sack from Dante Fowler Jr.

Washington had few answers for the Ravens' offense, which put up 484 yards and averaged 7.4 yards per carry. Most of that came from Zay Flowers' nine catches on as many targets for 132 yards. Flowers had over 100 receiving yards by halftime and helped the Ravens move downfield in chunks. He accounted for 44 yards on the Ravens' final drive of the first half, 15 of which came on a third-and-5 that helped set up a 13-yard touchdown pass to Andrews to put them up 17-10 at halftime.

Flowers was relatively contained in the second half, but that's when the Ravens leaned on Henry to close out the game. After the Commanders' Austin Seibert hit a 49-yard field goal with just under three minutes left to play, Henry carried the ball four times, including a 27-yard gain on a second-and-8, to prevent the Commanders from getting a stop they desperately needed to at least tie the score. Jackson, who accounted for 363 yards on the day, officially closed out the game by converting a third-and-1, setting up the kneel downs that bled the rest of the clock.

The Commanders will return to Northwest Stadium next week against the Carolina Panthers with plenty still left in front of them. They're still in charge of the NFC East with an opportunity to play in front of their home crowd two more times before starting the meat of their division slate.

As Daniels said after the game, though, it doesn't get easier for the Commanders from here. There are still difficult opponents on the schedule, and while their development remains ahead of schedule, they'll need to keep growing to give themselves the best chance to win.