John Harbaugh beautifully came to Mark Andrews’ defense after his disastrous 4th quarter

In an instant classic divisional-round matchup with the Buffalo Bills, Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens almost pulled it off. But a series of fourth-quarter miscues from mainstay tight end Mark Andrews — including a fumble and a drop on a late two-point conversion — ultimately doomed the Ravens and ended their season.

READ MORE: Josh Allen had classy praise for Lamar Jackson after the Bills’ win.

With the spotlight on Andrews for brutally coming up short in such a big spot, the natural inclination for some people might be to pile on his misfortune. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was having none of it in his postgame press conference.

Harbaugh immediately came to Andrews’ defense. Crucially, he didn’t blame him for the loss. Which is a true fact independent of a coach admirably defending their player. The Ravens committed three turnovers as a team. They had five penalties to just one for the Bills.

Postseason defeat, as hard as it is to believe, is never on just one person.

John Harbaugh: "We wouldn't be here without Mark Andrews. … Mark will handle this fantastically because he's a high-character person, a tough person and a good person. Proud of him like I'm proud of all the guys."

— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) January 20, 2025

Andrews is a pro and will undoubtedly come back ready to ball as a good soldier for the Ravens next season. And part of him recovering well from a nightmare fourth quarter on Sunday hinges on Harbaugh’s beautiful defense here. This is exactly what you want to hear from a team leader.

Harbaugh is a class act through and through.