Mark Andrews' 2024 season ended in a fashion so disappointing, even a prolonged silence couldn't make fans move on to 2025.
Fortunately, the passage of time and Andrews' eventual statement -- in which he said he felt "gutted" by his nightmarish performance in the Ravens' AFC Divisional Round loss to the Bills -- cleared the runway for takeoff into 2025. The league's wily schedule makers responded in kind, sending Andrews' Ravens right back to the place where their season ended to start the season: Buffalo.
Andrews is eager to turn the page and capitalize on the opportunity.
"At the end of the day, this is a new season," Andrews said on Wednesday, via ESPN. "It's two really good teams going against each other. I'm going to play my part, I'm going to do my job to the best of my ability, which I'm excited about. It's an incredible opportunity for this organization, for me, this team."
Andrews' performance included two crucially brutal plays in the loss to Buffalo: a fourth-quarter fumble and a dropped two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game in the final seconds. Because the complex sport that is football is often reduced to a handful of outcomes, Andrews ended up in the crosshairs of every critic and fan upset by the outcome.
He's been able to move past this dark period by leaning on his seven years of NFL experience.
"I'm a pro; this is what I do," Andrews said. "This is what I love to do. This is my whole entire world. So, for me, it's about focusing, doing my job, and just knowing the type of player that I can be in this offense and for this organization, for the city, and I've never lost sight of that."
The opportunity Andrews has been waiting for since January arrives Sunday night at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.
