OWINGS MILLS, Md. — With All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews mired in the least productive stretch of his seven-year career, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh vowed Andrews would become a vital part of the Ravens’ passing attack once again and insisted that Andrews would have no issue with his lack of production as long as those games produce victories.
In a 35-10 “Sunday Night Football” beatdown of previously undefeated Buffalo, Andrews dropped the only target that came his way while wide-open. That came after a Week 3 game in Dallas in which Andrews had no catches on one target.
Taken together, that marked the first time in 91 career games that Andrews went two straight games without a catch.
The gameplan played a big part; in both games, the Ravens emphasized the run, built early leads and kept the ball on the ground.
All-Pro running back Derrick Henry piled up 151 yards in a 28-25 win against Dallas and then 199 in the win against Buffalo, and the Ravens opened up three-score leads in both.
Andrews played just 33 percent of the offensive snaps at Dallas as the Ravens went with a heavy offense that emphasized inline blockers. Other than abbreviated starts because of injury, that was the lowest workload for Andrews since his rookie year in 2018. He played 46 percent of the offensive snaps against the Bills.
Through four games, Andrews has six catches for 65 yards and no touchdowns. That would translate during a full-season to roughly 25 catches for 276 yards, shockingly low output for a player who has been Lamar Jackson’s favorite target since they came into the league together as rookies in 2018.
Andrews set franchise records in catches (107) and receiving yards (1,361) in 2021 and finished with 45 catches for 544 yards last season despite missing the final seven games with an ankle injury.
Speaking to the media last week, Andrews downplayed any concerns about his workload, and Harbaugh reiterated that again Sept. 29 at his weekly Monday news conference.
“Mark Andrews is going to definitely have big games here catching the ball,” Harbaugh said, noting that Andrews’ blocking, which has never been considered his strong suit, has been at the heart of the Ravens’ success on the ground. Against Buffalo, Andrews had one of the key blocks on Henry’s 87-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring and is the longest run from scrimmage in Ravens history. Andrews also had a key block on Jackson’s touchdown run in the win at Dallas.
And, Harbaugh said, Andrews is not one to mope about lack of attention or targets.
“I could probably try to talk to Mark to make sure everything’s OK,” Harbaugh said, “but he would just look at me like, ‘What are you talking to me about? Everything’s fine; everything’s good.’ … Mark is a star — there’s no doubt about it. The fact that we’re doing well on offense and as a team, and that part hasn’t been expressing itself in the last two weeks gets me kind of excited, because that’s another weapon that we have.”
NOTEBOOK
HARBAUGH: TIMEOUT GAFFE “NOT GOOD”: Harbaugh took full responsibility for a timeout gaffe against Buffalo that ultimately proved inconsequential but in a closer game could have been a major factor.
With 1:16 left in the first half, Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey was injured after a Bills third-and-2 incompletion, and because attending to Humphrey stopped the clock, the Ravens were charged with a timeout. When the Bills lined up to run a play on fourth-and-2, Harbaugh signaled for a timeout. But since they had been assessed a timeout because of the injury, the Ravens were not permitted to call consecutive timeouts. The resulting delay of game penalty gave the Bills a first down.
The Ravens ultimately snuffed out the Bills’ drive and forced a punt, but a day later, Harbaugh said he was still bothered by the “bad sequence” — and would be for some time.
“That was not good,” Harbaugh said. “That was one I want back. … That was bad. I felt bad about it at the time. I still feel bad about it. I’m going to feel bad about it next year, and 10 years from now, I’m going to hate it still. It was just a bad sequence for us, for me especially.”
MAULET SET TO RETURN: Harbaugh said cornerback Arthur Maulet will return to practice this week, signifying he is getting close to making his 2024 season debut. The Ravens’ nickel back has been on injured reserve for the first four weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in August. Because he was placed on injured reserve (designated to return) at the roster cutdown, he was automatically sidelined the first four weeks.
During practice the past few weeks, Maulet has been seen working on a side field with a trainer, and Harbaugh confirmed Maulet will begin practicing this week. By rule, once he begins practicing, he must be activated to the 53-man roster within 21 days.
“We’ll see where he’s at physically and roster-wise and all those kinds of things,” Harbaugh said.
Maulet proved to be a key under-the-radar signing in 2023. After signing a one-year deal for 2023, he was re-signed to a two-year deal this past March.
The seven-year veteran developed into one of the team’s top slot corners last season and finished with 34 tackles, two sacks, one interception, five passes defensed and two fumble recoveries.
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