Ravens Tight End Mark Andrews Continues to Produce Without Lamar Jackson
OWINGS MILLS, Md — Ravens tight end Mark Andrews has not slowed down with quarterback Lamar Jackson out of the lineup.
In fact, he's been even better.
With Jackson sidelined the past three games with an ankle injury, Andrews has become a popular player for backups Tyler Huntley and Josh Johnson, catching 29 of 34 targets for 376 yards with four touchdowns.
Andrews has posted at least 100 receiving yards and one touchdown in three straight games, tying Jimmy Graham (2013) for the longest such streak by a tight end in NFL history.
From Weeks 7-13, Jackson was the worst quarterback in the NFL throwing to tight ends with a QB rating of 45.5, according to CBS Sports.
"This whole year has been just one thing after another," Andrews said. "But there’s one thing that remains true – is that we continue to fight. We continue to have resiliency, and I think that starts from Coach Harbaugh. Coach Harbaugh is someone that preaches that each and every day. No matter what happens to us, no matter what’s thrown at us, we’ve just got to keep on fighting, and that’s what we do.”
In Week 16 against the Bengals, Andrews had 8 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown. He leads all NFL tight ends in both catches (93) and receiving yards (1,187) yards, while his 9 receiving touchdowns are tied with Hunter Henry and Dawson Knox for the most.
Andrews’ 1,187 receiving yards are the second-most in Ravens single-season history, trailing only Michael Jackson, who 1,201 yards in 1996.
His 93 receptions this season surpassed Derrick Mason (86 in 2005) and Dennis Pitta (86 in 2016) for the second-most in Ravens single-season history, trailing only Derrick Mason (103 in 2007).
With two games remaining, Andrews needs 7 receptions to become just the eighth tight end in NFL history to record 100-plus receptions in a season. He will be a factor in whether the injury-marred Ravens make the playoffs for a fourth straight season or not.
"There are a lot of guys having to step up and guys that haven’t been here for more than a week playing defense and whatnot," Andrews said. "So, I think the more practice we get, the more we can drill in the details, focus on ourselves and not anything else. It’s all about ourselves. There’s some good football being played. We’ve just got to keep on going. Two games left; we’re going to get it down. I’m confident, and I’m ready for these next two.”
Andrews has recorded 50-plus receiving yards in seven straight games, marking the longest active streak by an NFL tight end and the second-longest overall streak behind the Rams' Cooper Kupp at 16.
