The Ravens have had one of the best regular seasons on record this year, and that success has continued into the playoffs.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson is the favorite to win the NFL MVP - his second - and primary members of the coaching staff are all up for awards. Management upgraded the receiver corps for Jackson and it led to a career season for the former Heisman Trophy winner.
But his favorite target remained tight end Mark Andrews until he went down with an ankle injury against the Bengals on Nov. 16 - during a controversial "hip-drop" tackle.
Thought to be lost for the season, the Ravens turned to second-year tight end Isaiah Likely to fill in. The 2022 fourth-round pick stepped in and the offense didn't miss a beat.
Through the first ten games of the season before going down to injury, Andrews caught 45 balls on 61 targets for 544 yards and six touchdowns.
In relief of Andrews, Likely started eight games and caught 30 passes on 40 targets for 411 yards and five touchdowns.
Perhaps even more impressive are the Next Gen Stats associated with Jackson and his tight end targets.
When throwing to Andrews, Jackson registered a 75.0 completion percentage, 9.1 yards per completion and a 135.7 passer rating. When connecting with Likely, Jackson posted a 71.1 completion percentage, 10.2 yards per completion and a 143.5 passer rating.
Jackson also posted a combined 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions with the tight end duo. Jackson's passer ratings when throwing to the two tight ends are the top 2 in the NFL among quarterback-tight ends in 2023 per Next Gen Stats.
The challenge on Sunday for offensive coordinator Todd Monken will be to involve both Andrews and Likely, while also utilizing his existing wideouts in the game plan.
The Ravens and Chiefs kick off at 3 p.m. ET in Sunday's AFC championship game from M&T Bank Stadium.
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