On the morning of the 2021 NFL Draft, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was about 10 hours away from receiving a phone call from the Cincinnati Bengals. That’s when he got a text from quarterback Joe Burrow.
“Get your bags packed.”
Since Chase got that text, his focus has been on creating the same dynamic offense that Burrow and Chase were a part of at LSU. Chase said he wanted to break every Bengals receiving record that the franchise had, and it only took three games for Chase to establish himself as a No. 1 caliber wide receiver.
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In Sunday’s 24-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chase caught two touchdowns, and he turned the tide of the game with a 34-yard touchdown reception before halftime.
“I thought the corner had pretty good coverage,” Burrow said on Sunday. “But Ja'Marr just out-physicaled him.”
In the Bengals offense, the only thing better than Chase sprinting down the sideline is Burrow following him to celebrate the touchdown catch. In Burrow’s touchdown throw before halftime, Chase breezed past Steelers defensive back James Pierre when the ball was in the air.
Before the play, Chase told Burrow that he could run past Pierre in one-on-one coverage. Chase told Burrow that if he threw it up in the air, Chase would track it down.
So Burrow threw it up, and Chase became the only player in the Super Bowl Era with a 30-yard receiving touchdown in each of his first three career games.
“That’s (the play) a receiver wants to make,” Chase said. “An extended catch like I did. Perfect timing.”
Burrow said the touchdown reminded him of their college days. It was also a sign of how Chase brings more to the table than a quick 40-yard-dash time.
The Steelers' defensive backs used a scheme that Chase had never seen before. Pittsburgh rotates its defensive backs right before the snap, and the Steelers were the first team to use that against Chase.
Chase recognized what the Steelers defense was doing, and that led to a game-changing touchdown before halftime on Sunday.
“That’s how we want to play,” Taylor said. “We want to be dominant at the end of the first half and come out strong in the third quarter. It puts you in a great position to play how we know we have to play on the road.”
After the Week 2 loss, where Chase’s 42-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter was the offense’s only explosive play of the game, Chase said the Bears were sitting on the Bengals’ wide receivers’ routes. Since the Bengals offense waited too long to take a shot down the field, the Bears took a 17-point lead.
One week later, Burrow attempted a deep pass to Tyler Boyd on the Bengals’ first series of the game. While that pass fell incomplete, Burrow found his best wide receiving threat later in the game for a 34-yard touchdown.
On Sunday, wide receiver Tee Higgins was out with a shoulder injury. Chase stepped in the No. 1 receiver role and built on a stellar start to his rookie season.
“It shows we have a good offense,” Chase said. “The weapons we have on offense, we just have to know when to use them and how to use them and execute when we’re using them.”
Chase said his favorite reception of the season wasn’t his 50-yard touchdown catch against the Minnesota Vikings, his 42-yard score against the Bears or his deep touchdown in Pittsburgh. His favorite reception came later in the game when he beat Steelers cornerback Joe Haden in one-on-one coverage for a 9-yard touchdown catch.
“(Haden) is somebody I’ve been watching since I was younger,” Chase said. “I made a good move on him, stayed in the play, (Burrow) saw me and I got open.”
After the first three games of the season, Chase has 11 receptions for 220 receiving yards. Over a 17-game schedule, he’s on pace for 62 receptions and 1,246 receiving yards.
The first three weeks of Chase’s NFL career have gone as well as they could have. After his 65-yard game against the Steelers, Chase saw himself as one step closer to the record books.
“Until I achieve everything I want to achieve,” Chase said, “it’s just a step closer to my goals.”
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