Jan 11, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews (89) against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second quarter in an AFC wild card game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Ravens Star Named Player Under Most Pressure

Originally posted on Baltimore Ravens on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 5:00 PM ET

Observers of the NFL have no idea how to react to the stakes of the postseason. Everyone recognizes which games mean more, but the way that everyone goes about overwhelming the winners with compliments and distributing blame following tight losses resembles less of a team sport than the on-field product would suggest.

The Baltimore Ravens have spent the 2020s attempting to capitalize on their franchise quarterback in Lamar Jackson, who opened up a window for contention that remains ajar. Multiple playoff runs have ended abruptly at the hands of AVC rivals like Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs or Josh Allen and his Buffalo Bills, leading the fans and analysts to find the quickest figure to point a finger at each January.

Jackson's heard plenty of grumbling. His gargantuan regular season numbers have translated into a couple of MVPS, and his having failed to translate that success to the playoffs has seen some talking heads ding him in positional rankings. His coach, John Harbaugh, has been similarly lambasted for leading several big-time collapses.

ESPN didn't exactly take the alternative route when discussing which Raven is set to face the most pressure in 2025, turning to a familiar target in Mark Andrews.

"He is entering the final season of his four-year, $56 million contract after dropping a critical two-point conversion in a 27-25 division round loss to Buffalo," Jamison Hensley wrote. "Andrews led all TEs with 11 touchdowns last season, but he averaged 39.6 receiving yards per game in 2024, his worst total since his 2018 rookie season."

The Andrews drop was just as bad as it sounds all these months later, halting another potential Ravens playoff run in the divisional round in allowing Allen's Bills a rematch with the eternally-formidable Chiefs.

The Ravens have spent the offseason tinkering, driven on patching any holes that remained on their already-talented roster. They've brought in new blood in the form of the NFL Draft and free agency, and the front office has demonstrated their confidence in this iteration of the Ravens with extension talks surrounding many of Baltimore's finest performers.

Andrews remained a potential trade chip right until draft day, and anyone willing to attach whatever goes wrong this season to last winter's scapegoat is only setting the veteran tight end up for failure. He led all Ravens pass-catchers with 11 receiving touchdowns despite a slow start and those aforementioned troubling yards per game numbers, just some of the reasons why several fantasy football writers are already avoiding Andrews stock going forward.

He'll still be a featured figure in the Ravens' scoring game, but they're well-rounded enough that they won't need to rely on another big season from the 3x Pro Bowler, even if another attempt at a comeback would go appreciated.

This article first appeared on Baltimore Ravens on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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