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3 hours ago
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The Baltimore Ravens had the No. 1 offense in the NFL in 2024 and it was largely due to the dual-threat running combo of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.
The focus from defensive coordinators having to key in on the threat of Jackson and/or Henry beating them with their legs opened up massive opportunities in the passing game.
Jackson finished the season as the clear favorite for the NFL MVP award, which would be his second-consecutive year winning the league’s highest honor. He finished the regular season with 4,172 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and just four interceptions, while adding another 915 rushing yards and four touchdowns with his legs as a runner.
Henry put together his second-best NFL season, finishing the year with 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns on the year.
There’s no denying the addition of Henry added a new dynamic to the Baltimore Ravens Todd Monken could utilize to open up the offense in 2024.
Wide receiver Zay Flowers put together a Pro Bowl season and the tight end duo of Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely thrived in the passing game. Andrews led all tight ends in the NFL with touchdowns (11), and had 55 receptions for 673 yards.
On Sunday, the Ravens hurt themselves with a few costly turnovers in the AFC divisional round matchup against the Buffalo Bills. One of those was a fumble from Andrews during a critical point in the second half that was recovered by Buffalo. Andrews redeemed himself with a few key catches as Baltimore closed the gap, and with 1:33 remaining, Baltimore came within two points of tying the game when Jackson hit Likely in the middle of the end zone for a touchdown pass. The Ravens simply needed a two-point conversion to tie the game.
The play-call looked like the right one, as Jackson rolled out to his right and hit Andrews — who was wide open — with a pass that landed between the tight end’s numbers. Andrews dropped the ball, though. And while John Harbaugh, Jackson and others noted the game wasn’t lost due to that drop from Andrews in the final 1:30 of the game, it was obvious the Ravens tight end blamed himself.
He wasn’t available in the locker room after the game and has been silent since Sunday.
On Thursday, Andrews posted a status on his official Instagram account, breaking his silence for the first time.
It was long, and he talked about how gutted he felt and the disappointment and shock he hasn’t gotten over yet. He noted that negativity has come his way (there were multiple reports of Ravens fans sending him threats), but closed the post with a message of positivity.
"Even when the moment seems darkest, perspective can reveal that there’s still a lot of light in this world. I’m now going to do my part to bounce back and contribute to it."
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