Late in the first half of the Ravens’ Week 6 win over Washington, Lamar Jackson surveyed the Commanders’ red-zone defense and saw … something. Was it something he liked? Something he didn’t? Hard to say. Clarity on the Ravens’ presnap machinations can be as hard to find as answers for their offense.

The Ravens were at Washington’s 13-yard line. The game was tied at 10. Jackson faced third-and-8. The Commanders were showing a two-high coverage shell. That meant the middle of the field might be open. Jackson barked something to his offensive line and pointed. A few linemen gestured. So did tight end Mark Andrews, lined up wide of left tackle Ronnie Stanley.

Jackson took the shotgun snap. Washington sent a four-man pass rush after him and dropped into a two-high zone. The middle of the end zone was open. That’s where Andrews was running. That’s where Jackson was looking.

The Ravens never trailed again after Andrews’ first touchdown of the season, a perfect connection gone according to script — well, only if that was indeed the original script, not a heady bit of presnap improv. Andrews grinned meekly Saturday when he was asked about Jackson’s revisionist touch in the 30-23 home win.

“We like to keep our cards close to our chest,” he said. “But he’s doing a really good job of seeing the defense, and, yeah, he definitely made a good call on that one.”

The Ravens enter Monday night’s road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the NFL’s best offense not only because of their big-play ability but also because of their bad-play avoidance. The blossoming partnership between the Ravens’ play-caller and his newly empowered quarterback has given them a firewall, a filter, a kind of two-factor authentication. If Todd Monken doesn’t get the offense into a good play call, Jackson probably will.

According to TruMedia, the Ravens entered Week 7 with just 25.4% of their plays having resulted in no gain or negative yardage. That would rank as the lowest single-season rate by any offense since 2000.

“We’re always chasing perfection with that,” coach John Harbaugh said Saturday. “It’s not like we haven’t had a few wrinkles with that [presnap flexibility]. You’ve seen it in games. We do our best. The guys — starting with Lamar, because he orchestrates it — are doing a great job with that.”

The Ravens ranked fourth in the NFL in offensive efficiency in their first year under Monken, according to FTN, but they’ve found a new gear in Year 2. First in rushing efficiency. First in passing efficiency. First in yards per play. First in explosive-play rate. First in third-down-conversion rate.

Monken had entered this past offseason looking for less “drag,” his catch-all term for the mistakes that undercut offenses. The streamlining process started during organized team activities and continued into training camp. Jackson was the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player, but he could do more, and Monken wanted him to do more.

In practice, Jackson’s ownership of the offense expanded. He became more proactive in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage. He adjusted pass protections and called audibles and played with his cadence like a quarterback who knew more of the answers to the test. With key starters returning alongside Jackson, their own confidence and comfort in Monken’s scheme bolstered, the Ravens believed their offense would look more aerodynamic.

It took a few weeks, but the attack is now in full flight. Over their past four games, all wins, the Ravens have posted an offensive success rate (the percentage of plays with positive expected points added) of 48.5%. Their success rate in 2019, when Jackson won his first MVP award as the driver of the league’s most efficient passing and rushing games, was 48.4%.

“Are we where we want to be yet? No,” center Tyler Linderbaum said Friday. “But I think [we’re] headed in the right direction. I think coaches have done a great job of putting us in the best situations possible. Obviously, not everything’s going to be perfect. Obviously, it took us a few games to kind of start clicking. But I think we just continue to get better. Communication, better understanding of where everyone’s going to be and what they’re supposed to do, I think, is just the biggest emphasis.”

Said Monken: “We’ve streamlined some things. We’re doing it better as a staff. We’re doing it better in practice. I think we’re detailing it out better. I think the guys are more and more comfortable. … We have a lot of pieces, and it’s just our second year together, but again, we have to do it this week.”

“They’re letting him do what he do best off what he sees. And it’s definitely more effective that way for all of us.”

Wide receiver Rashod Bateman on Lamar Jackson

Talent creates its own advantages, and the Ravens have more weapons than they’ve ever had since Jackson’s arrival six years ago. Running back Derrick Henry, a four-time Pro Bowl selection with the Tennessee Titans, leads the NFL in rushing yards. Wideouts Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman and tight ends Isaiah Likely and Andrews rank among the league’s top 20 qualifying receivers in average separation at the catch point, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Even the offensive line, an early-season albatross, has found its footing, grading out as Pro Football Focus’ 10th-rated unit through six weeks.

But the Ravens still need direction — and the occasional redirection. When the Bengals tried to discombobulate Jackson with “Cover 0” looks in their Week 5 shootout, the offense had to have a counterpunch. Three years ago, in an embarrassing prime-time loss to the Dolphins, the Ravens barely got their dukes up, blitzed into submission by Miami coach Brian Flores.

In Cincinnati, Monken and his quarterback came prepared. A quick screen helped. So did motioning over tight ends and keeping them in to block. A crossing pattern freed Bateman for an easy touchdown catch. Overall, when Cincinnati lined up without a deep safety, Jackson finished 5-for-8 for 50 yards and two touchdowns.

“Give credit to Lamar where credit is due, but it’s also been the organization giving him the power to do that,” Bateman said Friday of Jackson’s presnap command. “Lamar hasn’t always had the power to do that, and I feel like it’s held him back in the past. So I feel like, now, they’re giving him the keys. They’re letting him do what he do best off what he sees. And it’s definitely more effective that way for all of us.”

What’s changed? “It’s a communicative standpoint. He can tell us stuff that usually he wasn’t allowed to tell us presnap or however it comes, but I don’t want to give away too much.”

Whatever the call, whoever’s calling it, the Ravens are getting where they need to be. According to FTN, they have the NFL’s No. 2 first-down offense, No. 1 second-down offense and No. 2 third-down offense. Even obvious passing downs have not been drive killers; the Ravens are No. 4 on third-and-longs.

“I think that’s what every offense tries to do, is just stay on track, stay ahead of the sticks,” Linderbaum said. “Because the last thing you want — defenses, they’re preaching the total opposite. Get ’em behind the sticks. Get ’em in second-and-longs, third-and-longs. It’s something we preach, something we try to work on. And that just comes with everyone doing their jobs, guys making plays as well. It’s certainly easier said than done, but … it makes it more and more difficult for defenses when you’re in second-and-4 or third-and-1 compared to third-and-10 and second-and-8 or 9. So just staying on track, and you’re going to be a way more productive offense if you do so.”

Monken has called Jackson the “conductor” of the offense, and Jackson spoke Thursday as if he’s hearing each note played more distinctly: “Everything is just second nature right now.” After six-plus seasons and 83 starts, Jackson said, “everything is slowing down.”

As he has throughout his career, Jackson is bending the game to his will. He’s facing blitzes at a lower rate than he has in four years. Pressures are turning into sacks at a career-low clip. Stacked boxes on defense invite explosive pass plays, and light boxes welcome smashmouth runs. The use of presnap motion creates leverage points for both attacks. There is trust in the whole operation, Bateman said, because the whole operation has put its trust in Jackson.

“Obviously, if you’re a skill person, man, you’re going to want the ball,” Bateman said. “But being able to check to a play that’s beneficial for everyone, I don’t think nobody’s going to be too selfish about that. And that’s what I do love and appreciate about this team, is it’s a lot of unselfish players on this team. I know for a fact that there’s a lot that more people could do if our offense was built like that [with less flexibility], but our offense isn’t built to please people. It’s built to win games, and I think we’ve been doing that.”