ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Déjà vu?
The Ravens trotted their offense onto the field at Highmark Stadium on Sunday night with a little more than three minutes left, needing eight points to tie the game and keep their season alive in the AFC divisional round against the Buffalo Bills.
It was a methodical drive kept alive by Lamar Jackson scrambles and chunk gains out in space. The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Award winner spent eight seconds scanning upfield before firing to tight end Isaiah Likely streaking across the front of the end zone for a touchdown. Coach John Harbaugh wagged two fingers from the sideline, signaling the obvious decision.
On the 2-point try, Jackson rolled to his right and flung the ball to a wide-open Mark Andrews, his most trusted receiver since the two entered the league in 2018. The tight end dropped the ball and Baltimore’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion, 27-25.
Andrews was not available to speak with reporters after the game.
Sunday night wasn’t a far cry from the way the Ravens were sent packing this time last year. Then, it was rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers, who leaped toward the goal line when the ball was punched loose. It effectively ended any chance of the Ravens beating the Goliath Kansas City Chiefs and punching their ticket to the Super Bowl.
Andrews had a big hand in the journey back to playing late January football. He played hurt through the early portion of the season. He responded to weeks of criticism about a lack of involvement in the passing game by catching a touchdown pass in seven of the last eight games of the regular season while finishing third on the team in receiving yards (673).
While the Bills start preparing to dethrone the Chiefs next weekend, the Ravens board the plane home racking their brains about a whole host of problems from the loss that put them in the passenger’s seat early.
The defense looked sluggish for much of the first half. Baltimore’s vaunted run game took three quarters to pick up steam. Jackson threw an interception early and fumbled shortly after in the slick conditions. And Andrews fumbled earlier in the fourth quarter — his first time coughing up the ball since 2019.
“I walked up straight to [Andrews] and I told him I love him, I appreciate him,” left tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “That game was not … I know it seems like it comes down to that one play, but there’s so many other plays that factor into us being in that position. There’s a lot of plays during the game. You’re not going to blame one play for the whole game and give that guy crap for whatever it was.”
Andrews jogged right off the field after his fourth-quarter fumble. He parked himself quietly at the furthest end of the sideline that players are allowed to stand. He paced a few steps and cupped his hands behind his back. Jackson walked up and thumped him on the chest, presumably telling him to keep his head up. Then Andrews took a seat on the bench. He could only stare out at the snow-covered field and watch the clock tick from under a jacket.
His chance for redemption came. But the Ravens’ all-time leader in touchdowns didn’t deliver. It was a gutting moment for a player so highly regarded in Baltimore’s locker room.
“For anybody to say anything about him, you have to look in the mirror and really evaluate your thought process [given] what he’s done for this franchise [and] what he will do for this franchise in the future,” safety Kyle Hamilton said. “He’s been a consistent beacon of success the whole time he’s been here, and for anybody to take anything away from him and his work ethic, I think it’s just unfair.”
Running back Derrick Henry called Andrews “a warrior” with plenty to hang his hat on from this season. Right tackle Roger Rosengarten said he sits with Andrews the night before every game to glean as much wisdom from the veteran as he can. Likely called Andrews his big brother but “it happens, he’s human.” Jackson curtailed the blame, saying, “It’s a team effort. We’re not going to put that on Mark, because he’s been battling all season.”
The stench of a season cut short of expectations lingered in the postgame locker room yet again.
Jackson sunk into his locker trying to make sense of this reality beside quarterbacks coach Tee Martin. Center Tyler Linderbaum scratched his head in dismay. Some were slow to grieve, still in their uniforms. Others wanted to get as far from Buffalo as quickly as possible. Few in that visiting locker room could find the right words to articulate the feeling.
“It’s like anything else — destiny is a decision that you make,” Harbaugh said. “The decision is how you handle what comes in your life. Mark will handle it fantastic like he always does, because he’s a high-character person, he’s a tough person, and he’s a good person. I’m proud of him just like I’m proud of all the guys.”
Ravens fans might feel their mind wander back to Jan. 22, 2012, when Lee Evans dropped a potential game-winning touchdown with Baltimore trailing by a field goal in the waning seconds of the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots.
This ending might feel a bit too familiar to last year’s.
As the snow settles, uncertainty looms. “The message,” the often candid veteran cornerback Marlon Humphrey said, “is, ‘We lost. Get over it,’ and we’ll kind of see where the offseason goes.”
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