The Baltimore Ravens defeated their divisional rival Cincinnati Bengals in decisive fashion on Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football to advance to 8-3 and widen the gap in the AFC North standings. However, they lost All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews is likely done for the season after suffering an ankle injury early in the first quarter.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said: "Unfortunately on the negative side, Mark Andrews has a very serious ankle injury. It looks like a season-ending injury. So our prayers will be with Mark [Andrews]."
It’s a brutal loss for a Ravens team with Super Bowl aspirations and quarterback Lamar Jackson was distraught when he addressed the media regarding the unfortunate news. "We’ve been bread and butter. Peanut butter and jelly. Whatever you want to call it," Jackson told reporters after the game. "But that’s very tough because that’s my boy," Jackson added.
Andrews has essentially acted as the Ravens de facto No. 1 receiver over the years, Jackson acknowledged that: "That’s like receiver one sometimes."
Now, backup tight end Isaiah Likely will need to do his best to fill the void left by Andrews. Likely has shown he is a capable pass-catching tight end with above-average speed and athleticism in flashes but he will have to find a way to do it more consistently in his newfound role.
Hopefully, Andrews makes a full recovery in time for next season while the Ravens will have to try to move forward without their top pass-catching option.
