The Ravens’ win Thursday was bittersweet.
After Baltimore’s 34-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, coach John Harbaugh introduced that tight finish Mark Andrews’ ankle harm is “very serious” and can doubtless finish his season.
“Our prayers will be with Mark,” Harbaugh stated. “Nobody cares more about the team and being there for the guys than Mark Andrews, so it’s going to be hard for him but we’re going to be there for him all the way.”
Harbaugh stated the harm is a “form of a high ankle” harm however “more than just a sprain.”
On the opening drive, Andrews caught a brief cross from quarterback Lamar Jackson within the pink zone and was tackled by Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson, who rolled onto Andrews’ legs as he introduced him down. The Ravens’ medical employees attended to Andrews as he lay on his again. Jackson threw his helmet to the bottom in frustration as he noticed Andrews in ache.
After a couple of minutes, the tight finish stood up with assist and walked gingerly to the sideline, later leaving the sector to enter the locker room.
“I pretty much [saw] it,” Jackson stated. “I was hoping he was going to get up. … But when he went down, he was just laying there with that confused look on his face. I was like, ‘That’s my boy.’ I don’t want to see that happen to anybody, not just him. That’s my boy.”
The Ravens completed the opening drive with a landing — a 3-yard run from Gus Edwards — to take an early lead. Later within the first half, Jackson went to the medical tent for what gave the impression to be a lower-body harm, however the sign caller returned for the Ravens’ subsequent offensive drive with out lacking a snap. Jackson completed the sport 16-for-26 passing for 264 yards and two touchdowns.
The lack of Andrews, a three-time Pro Bowl tight finish, is important. His 59 targets, 43 receptions and 521 yards getting into Thursday all ranked second on Baltimore behind wideout Zay Flowers, whereas his six landing catches had been greater than the remainder of the Ravens mixed (5).
“It’s really crushing,” operating again Gus Edwards stated. “That’s one of our leaders, one of our best players. That’s a guy that we would love to have out there, but going to say a prayer for him. And I know with his work ethic that he’ll be back and he’s not going to miss a beat.”
Harbaugh stated Andrews’ manufacturing gained’t be the one factor the Ravens miss, but in addition his management within the locker room.
“He’s a fiery, emotional guy,” Harbaugh stated. “He’s an energy-bringer every single day, so we’re going to have to all make up for that, too.”
Added defensive deal with Justin Madubuike: “[It’s] devastating. I don’t even know the right words to describe it. Mark is a great teammate that everybody loves, the players, the coaching staff and the fans. For him to go down, that’s tough. … Mark is one of the toughest guys around, so we’ll be praying for him [and] showing him some love because he definitely needs it right now. He loves this team, and he loves football. It’s just so unfortunate, but we’re going to fight for him.”
The kind of deal with that introduced Andrews down might quickly be banned by the NFL.
League govt Jeff Miller stated on the NFL’s league conferences in October that the hip-drop deal with will increase danger of harm by 2,500% of a standard deal with. The hip-drop — the shape utilized by Wilson on Andrews’ harm — is one by which the defender, usually pursuing from behind and at an angle, dives and falls on his hip to carry down the ball service. By doing so, the ball service is prone to having his ankle twisted or his knee inverted.
“It is an unforgiving behavior and one that we need to try to define and get out of the game,” Miller stated. “To quantify it for you, we see an injury more or less every week in the regular season on the hip-drop.”
Harbaugh recognized the deal with on Andrews because the one the NFL is contemplating banning.
“It was definitely a hip-drop tackle, and it is being discussed,” Harbaugh stated. “It’s a tough tackle. Was it even necessary in that situation? … There are always plays you send into the league to have them look at and have them interpret for you.”
Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen stated he was dissatisfied about Andrews’ harm, however he doesn’t blame the kind of deal with for it.
“I mean, at the end of the day, we play football. I hate that Mark’s hurt, but at the end of the day, we play football,” he stated. “We play a tackling sport, I don’t think a hip-drop tackle is that bad of a thing. I mean, how else do you want us to tackle?”
Andrews wasn’t the one participant to go away with an harm. Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow injured his proper wrist within the second quarter on a brief landing cross to operating again Joe Mixon and went to the locker room. Burrow, who was proven on the printed struggling to grip the ball whereas throwing on the sideline, was dominated out of the sport early within the second half.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor instructed reporters after the sport that Burrow is coping with a sprained wrist.
Jake Browning, a former faculty star at Washington who entered Thursday with one profession cross within the NFL, changed Burrow, who helped lead Cincinnati to the Super Bowl in 2021 and the AFC championship sport final season. Browning completed 8-for-14 for 68 yards and a landing, a 2-yard cross to Ja’Marr Chase with 1:08 to go.
Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, who leads the group with 4 interceptions, was additionally dominated out within the third quarter with a left quadriceps harm. Ravens wideout Odell Beckham Jr. left the sport with a shoulder harm within the fourth quarter after a tough deal with from behind. He later returned to the sideline in road garments to look at the ultimate minutes of the win.
Harbaugh stated Beckham’s harm “doesn’t look to be too serious.” Beckham echoed his coach’s sentiments about his shoulder, including ‘we’ll determine it out.’ The Ravens play one sport within the subsequent 23 days with the lengthy week and Week 13 bye.
Without Andrews, Baltimore will want its large receiving corps to step up — because it did Thursday with maybe the group’s greatest efficiency of the season. Backup tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar are subsequent in line behind Andrews.
“I believe it’s going to be a huge challenge, but we have Charlie and Likely,” Jackson stated. Those guys are going to step up, they usually’ve been enjoying their tail off as properly, however we’re going to construct chemistry.”
Likely, who didn’t catch both of his two targets Thursday in Andrews’ stead, stated he tries to reflect how Andrews performs the sport. Now it’s his flip to place it into motion.
“It hurts. Mark is like a big brother in my eyes, so everything I do, I try to talk to Mark about it,” Likely stated. “Whether it’s operating performs, blocking [or] passing performs, I attempt to do the identical factor to my man on my facet.
“Seeing him go down, seeing the news on him ruined my night.”
The Associated Press contributed to this text.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com