The chemistry between Lamar Jackson and Mark Andrews has been a major part of Baltimore’s offense, but now the formula must change.
The offense faces a major challenge without Andrews, who underwent ankle surgery on Tuesday with an ‘outside chance’ of returning before next season.
Jackson didn’t downplay the significance of losing Andrews, who has 381 catches, 4,857 receiving yards, and 40 career touchdowns since entering the league with Jackson in 2018. When Jackson extended plays, Andrews was often the quarterback’s first look, and Andrews’ consistent knack for finding open spaces and being on the same page with Jackson as he improvised was uncanny.
“That was my No. 1 guy going off script,” Jackson said. “Just Mark being him, doing things to put us in great situations. We’ll miss that a lot.”
However, Jackson is confident the Ravens can find other ways to remain productive, relying on a collective collaboration between himself and the team’s other targets.
He still has a host of talented weapons to work with. Rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers leads the team in targets (72), catches (53) and receiving yards (588), and his ability to create separation with his quickness may be relied upon even more. Odell Beckham Jr. is coming off his most productive game of the season in Week 11 (four catches, 116 yards), while Rashod Bateman had his first touchdown catch and Nelson Agholor also had a touchdown catch against Cincinnati.
“I believe my chemistry with all the receivers is coming along well,” Jackson said. “We have to keep locking in at practice and keep building more. The playoffs are rolling around, the end of the season is rolling around. We’ve just got to keep stepping in the right direction.”
As for the tight ends, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar will now have an opportunity for bigger roles in their second seasons, and Jackson likes what he sees from them.
“I believe he’ll (Likely) step up and do what he’s supposed to do. He’s always somewhere open as I’m watching film. I see Charlie blocking his tail off, catching the ball. He’s a tall tight end.
“Likely, we built our chemistry his rookie season, he was balling out. This year, just from the maturity, being in the league a year those guys know what to do.”
The Ravens have the best record (8-3) in the AFC and the deepest group of playmakers Jackson has ever played with. Jackson is expecting everyone to step up to help fill the void left by Andrews.
“We’ve got great receivers, great backfield, got great tight ends that are stepping up. Just our team all around.
“Everyone’s running routes full speed, running great routes, getting separation from corners and DB’s. They’re doing a great job. When we start connecting down the field, the sky’s the limit for our offense.”
