Baltimore Ravens TE Mark Andrews had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills. In addition to losing a costly fumble, he dropped a game-tying two-point conversion to essentially ice the game. But while he ended a good season on a bad note, his charity of choice fared better in defeat.
That’s because the Bills Mafia—the fans of the Buffalo Bills—stepped up to the plate, as they often do. Whenever they’re not jumping shirtless through flaming tables, they like to do good deeds. Especially when an opposing player helps them out, fans step up and donate to their charities.
Mark Andrews obviously helped the Bills quite a bit, as he played a key role in the Ravens’ loss. While that’s likely a part of the trigger for these donations, though, it’s also a gesture of support and respect. It’s like they’re telling him, “We know that’s not you—but we appreciate it anyway”.
A Buffalo Bills fan named Nicholas Howard organized a GoFundMe page in support of the Breakthrough T1D organization. He writes, “As many of you know Ravens TE [Mark Andrews] wasn’t able to catch the the game tying 2 point conversion and upset Ravens fans. On top of that the TE has been receiving death threats and nasty comments atter [sic] his performance last night. We want Bills Mafia to donate to Marks charity for Juvenile diabetes”.
As of this writing, the GoFundMe campaign has raised over $50,000 from approaching 2,000 donors. The original goal started at $5,000, and has since jumped to $90,000, a mark it’s very likely to hit. Mark Andrews is a diabetic himself and has frequently spoken about the issues that arise while playing football.
Not only is Andrews active in supporting Breakthrough T1D, but former teammate Orlando Brown Jr. is also a celebrity ambassador. As is Adam Schefter. There are a number of prominent athletes who play despite medical issues, which might have prevented them in the past from having such a career.
Back in the 2017 season, after the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Ravens, Buffalo Bills fans donated heavily to the charities of former Bengals Andy Dalton and Tyler Boyd, who authored the surprise game-winning score. The Ravens loss sent the Bills to the playoffs for the first time since 1999. The Ravens consequently missed the playoffs, losing a four-team tiebreaker for the two Wild Card spots. That was the year before they drafted Mark Andrews.
While he did not get to the Pro Bowl, Andrews caught a career-high 11 touchdowns for the Ravens in 2024. He finished with 55 catches for 673 yards, catching a touchdown in six straight games at one point. But he failed to catch another in the Ravens’ two postseason games. Against the Bills, he caught five passes for 61 yards, at the end of which he lost a fumble. That fumble led to Buffalo going up by eight and forcing the Raven to attempt a two-point conversion to tie. And then Andrews dropped that ball.