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Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh came to the defense of tight end Mark Andrews following his costly drop during the team’s 27-25 playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
“There’s nobody that has more heart, cares more, and fights more than Mark,” Harbaugh told reporters after the game. “We wouldn’t be here without Mark Andrews.”
“Mark will handle it fantastically like he always does because he’s a high-character person, he’s a tough person and he’s a good person,” he added.
With the Ravens trailing by eight points late in the fourth quarter, they drove down the field before Lamar Jackson found tight end Isaiah Likely in the end zone.
Jackson targeted Andrews on the ensuing two-point conversion, but the 29-year-old couldn’t secure the catch.
The Ravens were unable to recover an onside kick attempt, leading to a victory for Buffalo.
Andrews finished the game with a team-high five receptions for 61 yards, but he also lost a fumble inside Bills territory with Baltimore attempting to score a go-ahead touchdown earlier in the fourth quarter.
The former third-round pick has spent all seven years of his career with the Ravens, earning three Pro Bowl nods.
Andrews struggled to open the 2024 season, catching six passes for 65 yards through the first four weeks of the year. He gradually found his stride, hauling in 49 receptions for 608 yards and 11 touchdowns over his next 13 appearances.
His 11 scores were the most among all tight ends during the regular season.
Andrews had a couple of costly mistakes during the Ravens’ divisional-round loss on Sunday, but Harbaugh was adamant that the team wouldn’t be in the position to tie the game without his efforts throughout the year.