Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews made arguably the most costly mistake of his team’s Divisional Round loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, but Chris Simms does not believe Andrews deserves all of the blame for the mishap.
The Ravens trailed the Bills 27-19 with under two minutes left at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., when Lamar Jackson found tight end Isaiah Likely for a 24-yard touchdown. Baltimore needed a two-point conversion to tie the game. They did not convert after a wide-open Andrews dropped a pass in the flat. You can see the play here.
While the pass from Jackson should have been caught, it was far from perfect. Simms highlighted that during an appearance on the “Up and Adams” show with Kay Adams on Monday. The former NFL quarterback criticized Jackson for waiting too long and not delivering a better pass.
“Throw it, throw it, throw it! It’s too late. Lamar Jackson’s making $55 million a year. That ball needs to be on time and it was not accurate,” Simms said. “Mark Andrews needs to catch it, don’t get me wrong. But Lamar Jackson’s making $55 million a year. He double-clutched it and threw it like a dart. … He made it as hard as it could possibly be for a wide-open touchdown.”
The throw was too late? Hesitant???
Chris Simms on Lamar Jackson’s throw to Mark Andrews… @CSimmsQB @UpAndAdamsShow pic.twitter.com/WNJCIE7mtJ
— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) January 20, 2025
Andrews had nothing but open space ahead of him. Jackson probably double-clutched because he wanted to give the tight end even more time to separate from defenders, but Simms is right that the hesitation may have disrupted the timing.
The truth is both Jackson and Andrews made multiple mistakes that cost the Ravens in their 27-25 loss. Andrews lost a fumble in the fourth quarter in addition to his two-point conversion drop. Jackson threw an interception and lost a fumble in the first half.
Jackson knows that the loss is not on Andrews, which is why the quarterback said what he did about Andrews’ drop. The Ravens have plenty of people to point the finger at.
