Mark Andrews’ playoff bumbles akin to Rory McIlroy’s U.S. Open lapses

Another playoff heartbreak for the Baltimore Ravens draws parallels to what happened to Rory McIlroy last summer at Pinehurst No. 2.

Legendary CBS Broadcaster Jim Nantz opened Sunday night’s telecast between the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills by saying he had never seen a Divisional Round matchup receive so much hype and fanfare.

Considering that quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are neck-and-neck in the MVP race, and the Ravens and Bills are perched among the upper echelon of the AFC right next to the Kansas City Chiefs, Nantz raised a good point. The game also marked his 501st NFL broadcast for CBS, so he certainly has some perspective.

Sunday night’s game delivered, too, as the Bills ultimately won 27-25 to advance to next week’s AFC Championship in Kansas City.

But like Rory McIlroy at last year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, a prominent Ravens star made a pair of jarring gaffes in the fourth quarter that ultimately cost his team the victory. No, we are not talking about Lamar Jackson, even though he had two questionable turnovers in the first half. We are talking about Mark Andrews, the former First-Team All-Pro who had a costly fumble with 8:41 to go and a devastating drop on a two-point conversion that sealed his team’s fate.

With 12 minutes left in the game, the Ravens faced a five-point deficit to the Bills. However, they had moved the ball efficiently throughout the second half, relying on running backs Derrick Henry and Justice Hill to steamroll through the Buffalo defense on a frigid night in Orchard Park. The Ravens worked effortlessly, and Jackson also did what he pleased through the air. It seemed like it was a matter of time before Baltimore would drive down the field, score a touchdown, and regain the lead on the road. But then Andrews made a costly mistake.

On a 2nd & 11 from their own 40-yard-line, Jackson found a wide-open Andrews over the middle. The tight-end then tried to dance around the secondary, looking for more yards, but Bills linebacker Terrell Bernard punched the ball from Andrews’ grasp and recovered it in the process. It marked the first time Andrews had lost a fumble since 2019. Buffalo then went down and kicked a field goal to take an eight-point lead, keeping Baltimore’s hopes alive with 3:29 to play.

But Andrews’ fumble compares to what happened to McIlroy on the 16th green last summer. While holding a one-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau, McIlroy inexplicably three-putted, which included a miss for par from inside three feet. The Northern Irishman lost confidence in himself and his game, and you could feel that further heartbreak was imminent.

You felt the same way when Andrews coughed up the ball to Bernard, breathing life into the Bills when all of Buffalo was experiencing tremendous anxiety.

Moments later, Baltimore had the ball again, trailing by eight and needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie. Jackson and the Ravens marched down the field in a flash, going 88 yards in under two minutes to make it a 27-25 game. Isaiah Likely caught the pass, thus setting up the all-important two-point conversion.

The Ravens had already failed to convert on a two-point attempt earlier in the game, as Bills linebacker Matt Milano swatted down a Jackson pass to maintain a two-point Buffalo lead. You had to presume the Ravens would not fail again, right?

Well, Baltimore called a terrific play, which saw Andrews flash right toward the right pile-on. Jackson rolled out to his right and delivered the ball to him perfectly, except Andrews could not haul it in. He dropped it, which meant Baltimore’s season came to a crashing halt as soon as the ball hit the icy turf.

Remember what happened on the 18th green at Pinehurst No. 2 last June? McIlroy hit his second shot short of the green and failed to get up and down. It should have been a routine par save, similar to how Andrews catches that two-point attempt 99 times out of 100. But McIlroy left his third shot above the hole and could not convert the slippery four-footer.

Bryson DeChambeau, meanwhile, hit a miraculous bunker shot from short of the green and made his par putt to win the U.S. Open. He did not make a mistake during crunch time, just like Allen did not turn the ball over against the Ravens. The Bills played clean, although they did get lucky.

To top it off, the Ravens did not make Andrews available to the media after the game. Yes, the former Oklahoma Sooner must have felt sick to his stomach after what had transpired. His teammates had nothing but supportive things to say about him, too. But being a professional athlete means you have to face the music. You have to answer the question of what happened and what went down. It’s a cut-throat business.

McIlroy also did this last summer. He left Pinehurst No. 2 on a whim and was airborne for Florida before DeChambeau lifted the trophy. He did not speak to the media and addressed the situation weeks later before the Genesis Scottish Open. Losing in a manner like this stinks, no doubt. However, the model that a player should follow after a situation like this is to look at Scott Norwood. Norwood, a kicker for the Bills, missed a 47-yard attempt that would have given Buffalo a Super Bowl title over the New York Giants in 1991. Instead of turning into a turtle, Norwood took it on the chin and talked with the press for 10 minutes after the game. It was a remarkable display of courage.

This is not to say that Andrews and McIlroy are not strong individuals, but they made the wrong decision to ignore their shortcomings, which made their respective collapses worse.

Yet, the only way to get through a difficult period of reflection and mourning is to fight through it altogether. The only way out is to go through it. But this will still be a long off-season for the Ravens, just like how McIlroy still feels the pain of what happened at Pinehurst.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.