Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson came to the defense of tight end Mark Andrews during the team’s mandatory minicamp, addressing criticism that has been levied toward Andrews since he dropped what would have been a game-tying two-point conversion in Baltimore’s AFC Divisional playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills in January. Jackson absolved Andrews of blame for the loss, which came in part due to Andrews’ critical drop as well as a highly uncharacteristic fumble in the fourth quarter.
Andrews, who entered the NFL together with Jackson in the 2018 Draft, had been one of the Ravens’ all-time most reliable playmakers before his mistakes in the Divisional Round doomed Baltimore to yet another playoff loss short of a Super Bowl. Jackson said he did not like the way people talked about Andrews, “‘Cause Mark is still Mark, for sure, no doubt,” while also placing responsibility on himself for throwing an interception and losing a fumble on his own.
“He’s accomplished so much for us and himself. I feel like, just let things happen sometimes,” Jackson said. “We wish we would’ve won the game. I wish I didn’t throw that interception. I wish I didn’t fumble. I wish the mishap didn’t happen, but it happened. It’s a lesson learned, man, so next time, we’ll do something better.”
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While the Ravens have been one of the best teams in the AFC since Lamar Jackson’s emergence as an MVP-level quarterback, they have yet to get over the hump and make it to the Super Bowl, with Jackson having lost five playoff games including an AFC Championship Game during his career. Their latest playoff loss to the Bills stands to serve as a driving force for Baltimore in 2025, just as past playoff losses — including the narrative that Jackson couldn’t win in the playoffs — have been in the present era of Ravens football.
“Before it was like, ‘Oh, you can’t win a playoff game.’ Then, we won a playoff game, got to the AFC Championship two years ago, and we just fell short, like two games short this year,” Jackson said. “We’re going to bounce back. We’ll come back and I feel like we’re gonna have vengeance on our mind.”
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