While Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd had only 39 receiving yards against the Baltimore Ravens, Boyd was still the reason the Bengals scored a touchdown in the second half.
With 11:13 left in the third quarter against the Ravens, the Bengals designed a short pass to Boyd. Three Ravens defenders followed Boyd on the play, so Burrow threw to a wide open C.J. Uzomah instead as the Bengals scored a touchdown.
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Even though Boyd didn’t make the catch, the play wouldn’t have worked without him.
“Not everybody is going to go out and have a 10-catch game every week,” Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said. “Wherever we think we can exploit a matchup, we’re going to try to do that.”
For most of his career, Boyd has been one of the offense’s most reliable players on the most important plays. Because of his route running ability and contested catch skills, the Bengals have designed a lot of their critical plays for Boyd.
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This season, even though Boyd is averaging only 4.6 receptions per game for 47 yards, Boyd’s role hasn’t changed. Neither has the role of wide receiver Tee Higgins, who is averaging only five catches and 51 receiving yards.
Their production isn't the same as it was in 2020, but the Bengals offense doesn't work without both of them.
“It's just some games it (doesn’t) come to me, sometimes it might go to others,” Boyd said. “We got a lot of playmakers on the team. Everybody can't be happy every single game, so I'm just going to continue to be a good teammate and a good leader."
Higgins started Sunday's win over the Ravens with a significant role, but it faded as Chase took over the game.
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Every week during the first six games of the season, the Bengals tried the same thing in the last two minutes of the first half. Quarterback Joe Burrow always dropped back in the pocket and completed a deep pass to Chase.
Then in Week 7 against the Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals had an almost identical approach in the last drive before halftime. Except this time, with Chase tightly covered and wide receiver Tee Higgins in a one-on-one matchup, the deep ball went to Higgins. So did 10 other passing attempts from Burrow in the first half, but Chase became the focal point after halftime.
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Even though Higgins’ role hasn’t been reflected yet with a breakout game, Callahan said Higgins is on track for one.
“We’ve got to connect with him down the field at some point,” Callahan said. “That’s the one thing we haven’t done with Tee. But Tee has been a big part of the possession game underneath with shorter routes. There are a lot of targets to go around.”
While Chase had the 201-yard game, the initial plan was for Higgins to be the featured receiver last week. Ravens No. 1 cornerback Marlon Humphrey is one of the best players in the NFL at that position, but Ravens No. 2 corner Anthony Averett has struggled this season.
“I didn’t see Ja’Marr having the game that he had, I thought Tee was going to have the big one,” Callahan said. “Tee was really productive in smaller spots. He got overshadowed by Ja’Marr’s production, but Tee does everything you ask him to do. Tee has done a really good job this year.”
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With Chase winning his one-on-one matchups so consistently, he became the Bengals leading receiver in his rookie season. Uzomah has also had a career season and earned a bigger role in the passing game. The Bengals running backs have often been left wide open when the Bengals throw the ball, and Cincinnati’s running back trio is averaging four catches per game for 39 yards.
The production that Chase, Uzomah and the running backs are having is all connected to the attention that opposing defenses are giving Higgins and Boyd. With 10 games left in the season, the Bengals offense still has proven receiving threats in Higgins and Boyd that Bengals head coach Zac Taylor plans to call upon.
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“Teams just can’t say we’re going to lock in on Ja'Marr because we have other playmakers,” Taylor said. “Ja'Marr may get the production sometimes. But I can promise you that the other receivers we have will factor into the defense playing the way that they do.”
NEW QB: When the Bengals face the Jets on Sunday, they’ll play a quarterback making his first career start. Mike White took over for the Jets after starter Zach Wilson injured his knee in the first half, and White finished the game 20-for-32 for 202 yards.
“You always have to be on your Ps and Qs with that because you just don’t know what they’re going to do,” Bengals defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi said. “It’s just staying focused, seeing what they do well, the check down, the run game, all those things. It’s just playing our keys and playing football.”
INJURED BACK: Bengals rookie running back Chris Evans didn’t practice on Wednesday with a hamstring injury, and Taylor said he’d try to “ease Evans into the mix” this week.
“We want to be careful with him,” Taylor said. “He keeps trying to fight through it.”
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