Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are headed to the AFC Championship game, but a pair of blunders by Mark Andrews’ Baltimore Ravens helped them to a 27-25 win on Sunday.
Andrews lost a fumble Midway through the fourth quarter after setting up a reception as the Ravens were marching down the field to try to take the lead. On the next possession, Andrews knocked down the game-tying two-point conversion with 1:33 remaining, ultimately leading to the Ravens’ loss.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh immediately came to Andrews’ defense after his crucial mistakes played a big role in their loss.
“There’s no one who has a bigger heart, cares and fights harder than Mark. We wouldn’t be here without Mark Andrews,” Harbaugh told reporters after the loss. “That’s what you tell him.
“It’s like anything else. Destiny is a decision you make. The decision is how you deal with what comes into your life, and Mark will handle it wonderfully as he always does, because he’s a high-character person, and he’s a strong, strong person.” He is a good person, and I am proud of him as I am of all the players.”
Andrews has been a big part of the Ravens’ offensive success this year, helping them lead the league in yards while cementing Lamar Jackson’s MVP case. The three-time Pro Bowler had 55 receptions for 673 yards and 11 TDs during the regular season.
Andrews also led the Ravens in receptions in Sunday’s game, recording five catches for 61 yards. His penultimate reception got the Ravens into Bills territory, where they made a 16-yard gain as Baltimore trailed Buffalo, 24-19. But while trying to get past the Buffalo 44-yard line, Andrews did not keep the ball in a safe position, allowing Bills safety Terrell Bernard to hit it and recover it. This was only the second time Andrews had lost in his career.
However, since Andrews accounted for a fair amount of Baltimore’s production, his Ravens teammates came to his defense.
“One play doesn’t define anyone. He’s the best touchdown receiver in Ravens history ever.” Safety Kyle Hamilton said. “He’s been a consistent beacon of success throughout his time here, and for anyone to take anything away from him and his work ethic, I think that’s unfair.”
Offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley described Andrews as “warrior,He shared with reporters that he told the tight end that he loved him and that it could come from what happened in Sunday’s loss. Jackson said he told Andrews “we’re a team” after dropping the two-point conversion.
“I’m as hurt as Mark, but I don’t do that [think it’s] “His fault,” Jackson told reporters. “Like we all played a part in the game. It’s a team effort. I’m just not going to put it on Mark, bro, because he’s been fighting all season. He’s been doing all the great things he’s been doing all season. Things don’t always go our way. We wanted that but in… “Wrong time. It looked like things were not going our way. We needed to figure that out.”
Andrews’ mistakes came in the most crucial moments of Sunday’s game, but they weren’t the only ones Baltimore made. Jackson threw an unforced interception in the first quarter and lost a fumble that led to a Bills score in the second quarter. As a team, the Ravens committed four more penalties than the Bills.
Those turnovers and penalties were just part of the reason the Ravens lost to the Bills despite being outrebounded (416 to 273) and converting on 7 of 10 third-down opportunities. Since Andrews did not speak with reporters after the game, Jackson was particularly hard on himself for his mistakes in Sunday’s loss, in which he completed 18 of 25 passes for 254 yards to go with 39 rushing yards.
“Transformations. We can’t have this s—,” Jackson said. “That’s why we lost the game. As you can see, we were moving the ball great. Just catch the damn ball. I’m sorry for my language. This is annoying. I’m tired of this.”
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