Mark Andrews: We’ve been practicing the fourth down play and it came through

Ravens running back Derrick Henry had a message for tight end Mark Andrews before the most consistent play of Monday night’s game against the Chargers.

The Ravens faced fourth-and-empty from their own 16-yard line at the two-minute mark in the first half, and head coach John Harbaugh elected to go for it. Taking a page from the Eagles, he asked Andrews to take a snap before being pushed from behind on a sneak. Henry said he told Andrews he was “pushing the crap out of you” and he did just that as he collected the first one down.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson would hit wide receiver Rashod Bateman for a touchdown a few plays later, and the Ravens had a lead they never relinquished en route to a 30-23 victory. After the game, Andrews said the play was something the Ravens have had in their pocket for a while.

“Yeah. Everybody has their different versions of it,” Andrews said. “We’ve been practicing this and it came through big in a big moment.”

The Ravens converted two other fourth downs on the night, and Harbaugh said, “the overriding thing was who we played and the idea that you just have to try to hold onto possessions as long as you can.” It helps when you have faith in your players to execute those plays anywhere on the field, and Harbaugh’s approach proved to be the winning one on Monday.