Bengals Notes: Ja'Marr Chase Surging, Joe Burrow's Early Struggles Appear to be Long Gone

The Burrow-to-Chase connection worked early and often on Thursday.

CINCINNATI — Drops, what drops? Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase has answered the bell after he contracted a case of "the dropsies" last week in Washington. The rookie had didn't have any catches, even though three passes hit him in the hands. 

Two days later he had two drops in team drills. 

Since then, Chase has been great in practice. He followed up drop-less Monday and Wednesday sessions with his best practice of the week on Thursday. 

Chase got open early and often in team drills, finishing with at least five receptions for [roughly] 100 yards and one touchdown. First, he beat Chidobe Awuzie on a deep curl route early in practice. Then, Burrow found him again, this time it was a back shoulder throw for another first down. 

Later in the same 11-on-11 session, Burrow found Chase for their longest gain of the preseason—a 50-yard touchdown. The rookie wide receiver beat Mike Hilton and got behind the safeties to make a huge play. 

"I see so much progress from him, just within the system of playing fast and playing detailed and being on top of what we're asking him to do," head coach Zac Taylor said after practice. "We saw some really good stuff out here today, not perfect, but a lot of good plays from him down the field and those are the things that we're counting on from him this year ... We need more explosive plays and that's where they're gonna come from."

Chase is getting more and more comfortable in the Bengals' offense :: © Albert Cesare / The Enquirer via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Chase did have one drop on Thursday—a slant that he should've caught. He did his 10 pushups and made a catch [the back shoulder throw] the next time he was targeted. He also had a nice reception along the sideline during a two-minute drill at the end of practice. 

 Joe Burrow is Back

Remember when Joe Burrow was struggling early in camp? That seems like years ago. The 24-year-old looks sharp with the regular season opener just 17 days away. 

Burrow was inconsistent in training camp as a rookie. He would have a great practice, then a bad session and the cycle would repeat itself over and over. 

That hasn't been the case for Burrow over the past month. He struggled early, but he's been great over the past few weeks. There haven't been many bad throws or ugly plays. 

He hasn't been perfect. He threw multiple interceptions in Sunday's practice. With that said, Burrow looks like the quarterback that everyone expected him to be when the Bengals selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. 

2. Burrow’s first week struggles seem like a distant memory. He made several great throws today including this 20+ yard pass that he delivered to Tyler Boyd despite tight coverage pic.twitter.com/cgJyE4tuAJ

— Dan Hoard (@Dan_Hoard) August 26, 2021

Other Notes

Darius Phillips and DJ Reader didn't practice, but it's nothing serious according to Taylor. 

"Maintenance days," he said. 

Speaking of Burrow, he's expected to get a maintenance day of his own on Friday. It's expected to be a light practice He will start Sunday's game against the Dolphins. 

For more on Thursday's practice, including highlights, go here.

Make sure you bookmark AllBengals for the latest training camp news, including exclusive interviews, highlights and so much more!

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