What happened to Mark Andrews? Ravens TE goes down after taking brutal hit against Bengals

The Baltimore Ravens scored a touchdown on their first possession against the Cincinnati Bengals, but Mark Andrews' injury put a dampener on celebrations. Starting at their 25-yard line, Baltimore went all the way to the red zone when Lamar Jackson threw a pass to his tight end. He gained nine yards before he was tackled from behind and brought down one yard short of the first down.

It was a hip drop tackle, and a Bengals defender landed on his left ankle, apparently twisting it. Andrews was down immediately on the field, and for a while, it looked like his teammates were fearing the worst. Jackson removed his helmet as players gathered around him.

The good thing, relatively speaking, is that the tight end could get up and walk off the field on his own. However, he did not return for the Ravens' second drive, and it was later revealed that the player was out for the game with a left ankle injury.

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Mark Andrews' injury update

Based on what was discussed during the broadcast, Mark Andrews was wearing a cast on his injured leg and walking on crutches. He was accompanied by the orthopedic surgeon and could not put any weight on his injured ankle as he was taken to the X-ray room.

While the full extent of the injury will become clear in the coming days, his importance to the team was immediately apparent. In their first drive, with him being majorly available before getting injured, the Ravens went and scored a touchdown. However, with him out, they could not get the yards and had to punt the ball away.

Even with Odell Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers available, Mark Andrews is still the go-to guy for Lamar Jackson.

This will also increase the criticism of the hip-drop tackle. Last season, after Tony Pollard was injured in the playoff game for the Dallas Cowboys against the San Francisco 49ers, there was a debate about whether such attempts should be outlawed. Many fans and players, however, were of the opinion that doing so would make it impossible for many defenders to stop offensive players.

Others will claim that in sports like rugby union and rugby league, the focus is on proper tackling technique, and hip-drop tackles are not needed to stop the forward momentum of attackers. Right now, though, every Ravens fan will be hoping that Mark Andrews is just out for this game and not for a longer stretch.