John Harbaugh, the coach of the Baltimore Ravens, revealed some information shortly after his team’s thrilling 34-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night. This information could have a big impact on the team’s bright future.
NFL tight end: Pro Mark Andrews most likely sustained a left ankle injury that ended his season.
Andrews’ catastrophic injury caused a stir of controversy. Logan Wilson, a linebacker for the Bengals, used a “hip drop” tackle to knock him down during the first drive.
It’s the same kind of tackle that caused quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs to sprain his high ankle during the divisional round of the playoffs the previous season. This past offseason, there were rumors that the NFL may ban the tackling technique, in which the defender drops his own body to the ground and grabs the ball carrier from behind.
When asked about the tackles made by Wilson that have caused injuries to players, Bengals coach Zac Taylor replied, “I don’t know anything about that.”
Though they remained in first place in the AFC North, the Ravens (8-3) lost their favorite target, Lamar Jackson. Andrews caught 287 passes from Jackson in the last six years, which is 123 more than any other player.
Additionally, Andrews and Jackson connected for 33 touchdowns, ranking second among quarterback-tight end combinations only to Mahomes-Travis Kelce (50 touchdowns).
Despite witnessing Andrews’ injuries, Jackson stated, “I was hoping he was going to get up.”
Jackson relied more on his outside targets than ever before with Andrews out of the picture. On Thursday, Jackson passed for 206 yards while concentrating on wide receivers, which is a record for him in a game over the previous two years.
Both Nelson Agholor and Rashod Bateman, two wide receivers, caught touchdown passes, and Odell Beckham Jr. amassed a career-high 116 receiving yards.
Most likely, the starting tight end for the Ravens will be a fourth-round selection from the previous season. In 27 career games, he has 45 catches for 462 yards; he did not have a catch on Thursday.
Through the first ten weeks of the season, Andrews had the most touchdowns of any tight end with six. He needed one more point to tie Todd Heap for the franchise record of 41 touchdown catches.
