How is your favorite NFL team doing right now? Now I am not talking about whether your team has a great record or not, what I’m talking about is how healthy is it? At this time of the year in the NFL, injuries play havoc with some teams’ chances in the postseason.
For the Baltimore Ravens things did not look good In Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals when tight end Mark Andrews went down early in the first quarter.
After catching a short pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson, Andrews was tackled by Logan Wilson who landed awkwardly on his leg. While Andrews was able to walk off the field under his own power and to the medical tent, it was revealed later that the tackle caused a cracked fibula.
Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh announced after the game that ¨Andrews will be out for the year,” but recently stated that there may be a chance that he returns in time for the playoffs. According to Callie Lawson-Freeman of Yahoo Sports, Harbaugh told reporters that
“There might be an outside chance [that] he could get back at some point in time,” Harbaugh said Monday. “We’ll just have to see how that goes,
Though.
2019 MVP QB Lamar Jackson told the media post game ¨You know we’ve been bread and butter, peanut butter and jelly whatever you want to call it but thats really tough because that’s my boy like receiver one sometimes you know.¨
To really understand the impact that this can have on the team, one needs to talk to the people who may care more than the players themselves: the fans. One Ravens fan, Paint Branch junior Pranay Medapally said, ¨Even though his team, the Baltimore Ravens, are doing good this year this injury is definitely a big one and scares him about them going deep into a playoff run.¨ This team is still in first place in the AFC North, and it continues to take each game as it comes.
It turns out that Week 11 was a tough week for not only the Ravens, but also another top team in their division, the Cincinnati Bengals who lost star quarterback Joe Burrow to a torn ligament in his right wrist. Burrow, after throwing a touchdown pass to running back Joe Mixon in the first quarter did not return to the field on the team’s next possession. Burrow was seen warming up on the sidelines but did not return to the game.
This injury was later confirmed to be season ending, which means it could be the end of playoff hopes for the Bengals as Burrow plays a vital role in this team’s success. Unfortunately
for Coach Zac Taylor and the team, who were 5-4 at the time of Burrow’s injury, two straight losses has put them in last place in a tough division.This injury is also tough for the team and Burrow as it comes only months after he signed a 275 million dollar contract just before the 2023 season started, which made him the highest paid NFL player of all time.
Sticking with quarterbacks and the AFC North division, just one week before the Burrow and Andrews injuries, the Cleveland Browns lost Deshaun Watson to a displaced fracture in his right throwing shoulder. Watson played through the injury in a thrilling 33-31 victory against the Ravens to bring their record to 6-3, but it was announced later that same week that he would be out for the remainder of the season. This is not what Cleveland was looking for after signing Watson in 2022 to a 230 million dollar contract. The Browns are 1-2 since Watson went out and find themselves struggling to hold onto their playoff spot with former Raven quarterback Joe Flacco under center. While Flacco performed well in his first game all year since last starting for the Jets in the 2021 season, the Browns lost and are now 7-5 and must find a way to win if they want to survive Waton’s injury.
