Buffalo Bills fans have been showing out for Mark Andrews in the wake of his brutal dropped catch on Sunday in the AFC playoffs.
As of Tuesday night, a GoFundMe page dedicated to supporting the Baltimore Ravens’ charity of choice for juvenile diabetes had raised more than $48,000. That total is well above the initial goal of $5,000.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22709731/1324323578.jpg)
The money in the campaign is going to Breakthrough TD1, a juvenile diabetes research and advocacy organization. Andrews, who was diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes as a child, has long supported the charity, formerly known as JDRF. He’s worked as a Breakthrough TD1 youth ambassador in the past.
The Ravens scored a late touchdown in their AFC divisional-round game against the Bills on Sunday night, and went for a would-be game-tying 2-point conversion with just 93 seconds left on the clock. Lamar Jackson found a wide-open Andrews at the goal line, but Andrews lost control of the ball after it hit him in the hands.
He dropped the pass, and the Ravens ended up losing the game. The win sent the Bills into the AFC championship game, where they’ll take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
It was one of the worst games of Andrews’ career. The three-time Pro Bowler and one of the best Ravens players of his generation dropped a ball late in the first half, too, and fumbled what would’ve been a first down in Bills territory — which Buffalo later converted into a field goal. The drops were his first since Week 6 of the regular season, and extremely rare for the often-reliable tight end.
Andrews did not speak to reporters after the game, and he skipped Monday’s locker room media session, too.
“There’s nobody that has more heart and cares more and fights more than Mark,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. “We wouldn’t be here without Mark. That’s what you say to him.
“It’s like anything else. Destiny is a decision that you make. The decision is how you handle what comes in your life. Mark will handle it fantastic like he always does because he’s a high-character person. He’s a tough person. He’s a good person. I’m proud of him just like I’m proud of all the guys.”
While the mistake is surely still eating at Andrews, and will be for quite some time, Bills Mafia is at least trying to turn it into a small positive for him.
