Isaiah Likely says Ravens enter 2025 NFL season with renewed focus on fundamentals after tough playoff exit
For the past few years, the Baltimore Ravens have been one of the best teams in the regular season, but they haven’t been able to get over that hump and make a Super Bowl run.
Led by two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson at quarterback, the Ravens possess a team that has all the capabilities of representing the AFC in the Super Bowl. But putting together that vintage playoff run is much harder than it looks — and sometimes it’s heartbreaking when things just don’t go your team’s way.
The Ravens experienced that last year when Mark Andrews, one of Jackson’s most trusted targets, dropped a two-point conversion that would have tied their playoff game against the Buffalo Bills at 27 apiece with 1:33 left in the fourth quarter. It’s a catch Andrews usually makes, but he couldn’t see it through.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
So, what is the Ravens’ mindset heading into the 2025 season? What needs to change to push through to the "Big Game?" Andrews’ tight end counterpart, Isaiah Likely, spoke to Fox News Digital at this year’s Tight End University about that very question, and the answer was all about "harping on the fundamentals."
"I feel like everybody, when you restart your season and want to get into the postseason, it is really just going back to the principles that got you there. That’s taking every game one step at a time, and remembering why you’re there, who you are in those moments.
RAVENS' LAMAR JACKSON DEFENDS MARK ANDREWS AFTER PLAYOFF DROP LED TO DEATH THREATS
"I feel like we get a little jittery because we want it so bad. Everybody wants to win the Super Bowl so bad. … Really just make a standpoint of they’re going to have to play us on our terms, and that’s what I feel like is going to be the big mantra right here. Never get away from our game plan. Never get away from our standpoint."
Likely pointed to Andrews as one of the main fundamentalists on the team — someone who is the epitome of doing the little things in practice and on game day that helps the team win.
He may not have gotten it done earlier this year, but Likely is confident that Andrews will be coming back even better to prove he can be trusted again in that situation.
"That’s big bro. I tell everybody … he’s All-Pro Mark for a reason," Likely said of Andrews, who is set to enter his eighth season with the Ravens. "Mark makes plays where you look on the sidelines, you're watching on TV like, ‘Damn, that’s Mandrews.’ So I'll never make it seem like it’s bigger than what it is. Everybody is human. I have had plenty of drops while being in the league.
"He’s made plenty of plays while being in the league, so I just tell him even after the two-point conversation: ‘Be you. Never forget who you are. Never forget what you did in the league already. … One play is never going to define who you are and what you have done to this point.’"
As for Likely, he’s entering his fourth year in the NFL, which will be a contract year for him as well. The Coastal Carolina product has improved each year over his three seasons with Baltimore, hauling in six touchdowns and 477 yards in 16 games in his last campaign.
Likely is hoping to take more lessons from Tight End University with him back to Baltimore in what will be a crucial season for him personally and as a team.
"It’s just a blessing that the vets around the league, old or new, really come back to show love and appreciation to tight ends playing now," he said of the event put on by tight end stars George Kittle, Travis Kelce and Greg Olsen. "Whether you have a vet on your team or vet in the league, I mean, this is probably the biggest turnout since I have been here with all the tight ends. After games, before games, pre-games, usually tight ends around the league talk a little bit, but this is really where you get to pick the vets’ brains."
Fox News' Connor McGahan contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.