Mark Andrews Return a 'Great Advantage' For Ravens
After weeks of speculation, finally, the Baltimore Ravens will be welcoming back All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews for Sunday's AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Second-year tight end Isaiah Likely has filled in well in Andrews' absence, and now the pair could form a deadly duo in the Ravens' passing game under Todd Monken.
Baltimore's offense averaged 28.4 points per game (ranks 4th) this season and head coach John Harbaugh says that adding a player of Andrews' caliber on Sunday will be a great advantage.
“I mean our offense is what it is at this point in time, so to add a player like Mark is a great ad for us,” Harbaugh said. “I mean it's a great advantage, we're excited about it, Mark's been looking good the last couple weeks, he's merged into the game plan as we built it this week and that's what we'll be running with on Sunday.”
The Ravens are perhaps in their best position to reach a Super Bowl since 2012 and with the 2019 demons vanquished with the 34-10 win over the Houston Texans, a home championship game awaits.
Tommy Gilligan, USA TODAY Sports
Having been one of the most consistent teams in the league all season, Baltimore is just one win away from representing the AFC in the Super Bowl. But first, it must slay Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, with Harbaugh saying his players are ready to roll.
“They're excited,” Harbaugh said. “It takes a lot to get to this point, to still be playing in a game of this magnitude, it's a hard thing to do. So they're excited to be playing the game, they want to put their best foot forward, they want to play their best, they want to play their hardest you know they want to do well so that's how they're thinking.”
Lamar Jackson described the game as a "heavyweight" fight and with the Chiefs being in their sixth straight AFC Championship game thanks to Mahomes, and the Ravens being one of the best teams in the NFL this year, it has all the makings of a heavyweight fight.
Being at home will be a big advantage for the Ravens, so too will having Andrews back in the team for the first time since Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Baltimore's offense was high-octane without Andrews, so one can only imagine what it could look like on Sunday. While we shouldn't be putting too much pressure on Andrews to have a big game, he has the talent to make life very difficult for the Chiefs defense.
With a host of talent already on offense, Monken and Jackson have another weapon at their disposal, and one they hope will be enough to get past the Chiefs.
