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Another Huge Night for Bengals Receiver Ja’Marr Chase Had Him Running Away From More Than Just Dallas Defenders

Jay Morrison

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) runs pass Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland (26) in the 4th quarter for a touchdown during Monday Night Football at AT&T Stadium in Arlington,Texas on Monday, December 9, 2024. The Bengals won 27-20.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) runs pass Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland (26) in the 4th quarter for a touchdown during Monday Night Football at AT&T Stadium in Arlington,Texas on Monday, December 9, 2024. The Bengals won 27-20. / Cara Owsley/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Joe Burrow went from stunned to a shrug.

Dejected on the sideline after a disastrous series forced the Cincinnati Bengals to punt the ball back to the Dallas Cowboys in a tie game with two minutes remaining.

Dallas linebacker Nick Vigil blocked Ryan Rehkow’s punt, but cornerback Amani Oruwariye tried to recover the ball and muffed it, enabling Cincinnati rookie linebacker Maema Njongmeta to grab it and give it back to Burrow and offense.

“I couldn’t believe we got a break,” Burrow said.

What happened next should have surprised no one.

Three plays after getting new life, Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase with a shot pass to the right that the wide receiver turned into a 40-yard touchdown for the game-winning score in a 27-20 triumph.

“Find Ja'Marr,” Burrow said of his mindset before that play as well as before the game.

“Coming into this game, I was gonna feed Ja'Marr,” Burrow said. “I felt last week he had some opportunities that we didn't quite take advantage of, so I was just gonna make sure if I got an opportunity with him, I was gonna give it to him.”

Burrow did so over and over and over again.

Somehow with Chase on pace for a historic season, the Dallas defense didn’t commit to taking him away.

“I was getting good matchups and leverages all night,” Chase said. “There weren’t too many double teams.”

The result was Burrow targeting Chase 18 times and connecting for 14 receptions, 177 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner that brought back memories of New Orleans when Chase caught a short pass and outraced the defense for a 60-yard touchdown with 1:57 remaining.

Monday night at AT&T Stadium, it was the same type of throw, only to the right instead of left. Chase caught it, made one defender miss and easily scored the 18th touchdown of 40+ yards in his three-plus seasons in the league.

"It doesn't get any simpler than that," head coach Zac Taylor said of the play. "That's a Day 1 install."

And Burrow and Chase have worked at it every day since, which is why the result was more shrug than surprise for Burrow.

“We've repped that route a bunch,” Burrow said. “I was able to throw it back inside shoulder so he could turn it up the field. That's a rep that we've talked about a lot so he could make some plays after the catch, and he went and did what he does.”

What he does is leave defenses in the dust, even on some of the most routine plays.

“It’s a play we always run,” Chase said. “It was like me and Joe were on the same page. That goes back to the New Orleans game, same play. We were both on the same page. He threw on my inside shoulder so I could turn up field and run after catch. It was a good job of him giving me an opportunity to make a play.”

Chase not only raced away from the Dallas defense, he put more separation between himself and every other receiver in the NFL.

His pursuit of the Triple Crown – most receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in a season – has him well in front of the field in all three categories after Monday night’s performance.

Chase’s 93 receptions lead Las Vegas tight end Brocker Bowers by six.

Chase’s 1,319 yards lead Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson by 149.

And his 15 touchdown catches are six more than Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown and Washington’s Terry McLaurin.

Only four players have achieved the receiving Triple Crown.

Here is what their leads looked like after 13 games.

Cooper Kupp, 2021 – Led by 21 catches, 201 yards and one TD.

Steve Smith, 2005 – Led by one catch and 162 yards and trailed by two TDs.

Sterling Sharpe, 1992 – Led by 11 catches, 104 yards and one TD.

Jerry Rice, 1990 – Led by 11 catches, 179 yards and one TD.

Chase’s numbers put him on pace for 122 catches, which would be tied for 14th all time; 1,725 yards, which would be 11th; and 20 touchdowns, which would rank third.

“You just can’t get him the ball enough,” Taylor said. “We got it to him 14 times, and it feels like we can still try to get it to him more. And we do, trust me. But just in those moments, sometimes you just try to keep it simple.”

Burrow said the presence of Tee Higgins, despite the receiver only catching two passes for 23 yards, plays a huge role in helping Burrow and Chase put up historic numbers

“Tee out there makes teams play a little honest,” he said. “Teams are going to mix up the coverages against us, they always do. I think our coaches are some of the best in the league at identifying what teams are trying to do to us and adjusting on the fly. I’m always really confident in my ability to read and react to what I’m seeing.”

He’s also confident in what he’s saying, which is why Burrow took a moment in his postgame press conference to pivot away from Chase and talk about keeping Higgins, who will be a free agent at the end of the year.

"We don't know, but those discussions are ongoing and I'm confident that I think we're gonna be able to do what it takes to bring Tee back,” Burrow said. “I know that I'm gonna do what it takes to get him back, and so is he. We've had those talks. Those are gonna be offseason discussions, but we're excited about that opportunity.”

So is Chase.

“It’s 100 percent possible," he said of keeping Higgins. "Got to play chess in that situation, but it’s possible. I wish I could sign Tee myself and he could be with me for an eternity.”

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Jay Morrison
JAY MORRISON

Jay Morrison covers the Cincinnati Bengals for Bengals On SI. He has been writing about the NFL for nearly three decades. Combining a passion for stats and storytelling, Jay takes readers beyond the field for a unique look at the game and the people who play it. Prior to joining Bengals on SI, Jay covered the Cincinnati Bengals beat for The Athletic, the Dayton Daily News and Pro Football Network.