As arguably the greatest running quarterback in NFL history, Lamar Jackson can appreciate an elite scramble, and he loved watching tight end Mark Andrews rumble to paydirt Sunday in Cleveland.
The Baltimore Ravens quarterback opened up about Andrews’ historic game, where he both broke the team’s all-time receiving-yards record and rushed for his first NFL touchdown in their 23-16 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Andrews surpassed Derrick Mason atop the Ravens’ all-time receiving-yards list — in his eighth season with the team — when Jackson hit him for an 11-yard pass on Baltimore’s fifth play from scrimmage.
The Ravens (5-5) have won four straight and stayed within one game of the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North lead. Baltimore will host the New York Jets on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.
Mark Andrews’ Fourth-Quarter Run Was ‘Crazy’
Andrews’ three-catch, 32-yard performance gave him the requisite yardage to move to the top of the Ravens’ franchise receiving list.
Yet, it was Andrews’ run on fourth-and-1 at the Cleveland 35-yard line that had everyone in the Charm City buzzing.
Baltimore had lined up with Andrews taking the direct snap, and Jackson at shotgun depth behind him. Yet, instead of running the quarterback sneak — which he had done six times prior, including once in Week 2 against the Browns — Andrews took off on a designed quarterback sweep around the right end that ended in a 35-yard rumble for the go-ahead score with just 2:31 to go.
“That was crazy,” Jackson said. “I was celebrating the whole time. We practiced that early in the week, and it was looking pretty good. We just needed a couple of yards, but for him to go for a touchdown, that was amazing.
Andrews’ rushing touchdown capped a day where he put up 67 all-purpose yards, and Jackson remembered to call out his old-reliable tight end’s history-making performance too.
“For him to have the all-time career receiving yards [record], that’s crazy,” Jackson said. “Shoutout to Mark.”
Lamar Jackson Had Mark Andrews’ Back After His Costly Drop In Buffalo
Andrews may have been maligned for his costly drop in the playoffs last January, but the tight end has been one of the best in Ravens history — which is no small feat, considering the other tight ends who have donned the purple and black.
“He’s a grown man,” Jackson said of his perseverance after the drop on the two-point conversion that cost Baltimore at least a shot at overtime in the divisional round against the Buffalo Bills. “Just as much as other people beat him up, he beat himself up, I feel like. Why kick someone when they’re down?
“That’s my brother, at the end of the day. I’m always going to have his back.”
So that Andrews has rebounded from those lows to have another productive year and break multiple franchise records — he sits just three behind Mason on the all-time receptions list too — shows Andrews’ continued value.
“He’s extremely valuable,” Jackson said. “He’s always there. He’s always there when we need him, and he just showed that. He’s Mr. Reliable.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Ravens’ Lamar Jackson Sends Strong Message to Mark Andrews on Historic Game appeared first on Heavy Sports.