Returning Ravens Star Reveals His Emotions Ahead Of Sunday
The Baltimore Ravens got some excellent news when star tight end Mark Andrews was cleared to play in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Andrews has been Baltimore’s top threat in their passing game for some time, and he has been out since Week 11 with a high ankle sprain.
This will be his first trip to a conference title game, and per Jeff Zrebiec, he says he’s stoked about the opportunity.
“I love to play football. I love the Ravens. I love the city. I’m going to give them everything I got,” Andrews said.
The big difference for the Ravens this season compared to last season is their improved passing game — in 2022, they were just 28th in passing yards and 19th in passing touchdowns, but this season, they ranked 21st and 12th, respectively, in those categories.
In 10 regular-season contests, Andrews had 45 catches for 544 yards and six touchdowns, and he has been something of a security blanket for quarterback Lamar Jackson over the years.
In the Chiefs, Baltimore is facing a team that was second in both points and total yards allowed during the regular season, and they will definitely need Andrews to play like his usual self in order to reach the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs aren’t quite the offensive team they used to be, but they still have dynamo quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a man who can still turn nothing into something, especially in high-leverage situations.
While many are still very reluctant to pick against Mahomes, the Ravens will have home-field advantage in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game, and thus they’re slight favorites to head to the Las Vegas area to play for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
