Did Chiefs Give Commanders Blueprint vs. Bengals Ja'Marr Chase?

The Kansas City Chiefs had some success against Cincinnati Bengals star Ja'Marr Chase that the Washington Commanders might try to emulate.

Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) breaks up a pass intended for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) in the first quarter of the NFL Week 2 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. The Bengals led 16-10 at halftime. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Washington Commanders have a major challenge ahead of them Monday night when they travel to Ohio to face the Cincinnati Bengals.

Wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase has caused many headaches for opposing teams over the year, and is looking to make the Commanders pay for the Bengals' 0-2 start to the season.

Equally, Washington is hoping to turn the frustration Chase displayed last weekend into outright anger as they hope to at least contain the Cincinnati star who very seldomly can be stopped.

Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) breaks up a pass intended for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) in the first quarter of the NFL Week 2 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. The Bengals led 16-10 at halftime. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

DO YOUR JOB

Looking back at Chase's most recent matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs in a heartbreaking 26-25 loss in Week 2 the star receiver brought in four catches for 35 yards. The main player in containing Chase was Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie, and by studying his tape against the star, perhaps the Commanders can adopt their own strategy from the success he had last weekend.

According to Zebra Sports, McDuffie and Chase matched up on 17 of the receiver's 38 routes run (45 percent) including four in press coverage. In those reps, McDuffie allowed just one catch for four yards and was targeted twice.

Additional data says Chase lined up nearly evenly split between the left and right sides of the Bengals' formation on top of reps where he lined up in the backfield. And if there's one cornerback on the Washington defense that could provide his team the same support McDuffie did a week ago, it's Benjamin St-Juste who is a little taller and a bit heavier than his Kansas City counterpart.

St-Juste largely lines up on the defensive left side (the offense's right), but like McDuffie in Week 2, if the Commanders are going to rely on their top corner to contain Chase, he'll need to be able to move around more than usual.

Washington doesn't usually ask St-Juste to move around much, and so far this season he's spent 77 percent of his time on one side of the formation. Conversely, the Chiefs move McDuffie around often, and he splits time in the slot, out wide, and on either side, no matter who the opponent is.

So asking St-Juste to become more of a traveler would be asking him to step outside of his comfort zone. But it's a task we're sure the fourth-year cornerback would be willing to take on if asked to do so.

ONE MAN CONTAINMENT CREW

The first time Cincinnati targeted Chase against McDuffie came in the end zone early in the game.

Stacked in a reduced split with runing back Chase Brown the Chiefs matched with two defenders, one being McDuffie and the other being safety Justin Reid.

When Brown motioned into the backfield pre-snap, Reid followed in a way that would indicate zone coverage to quarterback Joe Burrow. At the snap, the Chiefs dropped into Cover-3 and McDuffie matched with Chase off the line of scrimmage following him into the middle of the end zone as the receiver attempted to secure separation and leverage on a left to right in-breaking slant.

You could argue that if Burrow puts the ball more out in front of Chase than he did that maybe the Bengals come away with a touchdown. Instead, with McDuffie in close contact with Chase, the ball falls incomplete and the cornerback gets credit for a pass defensed after getting a hand in the way of the attempt.

That kind of physical play is what Chase found all day long facing Kansas City. And it's the kind of play that Washington may look to replicate.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) catches a pass in the second quarter of the NFL Week 2 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. The Bengals led 16-10 at halftime. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

IT TAKES A UNIT

Chase brought in his four catches on a total of five targets and his largest gain of the day came on a 13-yard connection with Burrow.

All four came against soft, or off, zone coverage. The lone incompletion came on the one pass Burrow tried to fit into his star teammate when in tighter coverage. It's a small sample size, but one that might indicate an appropriate style of play to attack Chase with this weekend.

That's not to say Washington should consider just pressing Chase all game long, however. There are certainly points to chose a more aggressive approach, and others to be more conservative - being okay with allowing the catch, as long as the tackling prevents the explosive gain afterward.

On just about every third or fourth down play run by the Bengals offense the Chiefs defense approached Chase with press coverage, or attached a defensive back whose sole purpose in life for that rep was to run with the shifty receiver. Oftentimes, when possible, Kansas City even provided top coverage or an extra man to straight-up double-team the receiver. Getting aggressive at the right times to ensure there were no easy conversions for Burrow and his top target - spiritually, not literally so far this season.

REPLICATING RESULTS

It's not a new strategy. Taking away the star as much as possible to force other players to step up in his place is a strategy almost as old as sports. Facing the Bengals in Week 2, it's a strategy that served the Chiefs well enough to allow their offense a chance to win the game by one point. In Week 1, it helped the Patriots hold Cincinnati to just 10 points, and earned them a win as well.

In that Week 1 matchup, Chase had six catches for 62 yards, and even had an explosive gain of 28 yards, but was never a real threat to take over the game the way we've seen him do in the past.

Like Kansas City after them, the Patriots were able to prevent Chase from having major impacts at critical moments by upping the pressure in their coverage of him in critical spots while opting for a softer approach accepting smaller gains - with one perfectly placed explosive pass from Burrow mixed in - relying on their defense to rally around him versus trying to run with him for 60 minutes.

It's an approach that's helped two opponents minimize scoring from the Cincinnati offense giving their own opportunties to produce points on the other end. It's worked twice already, and in a copycat league like the NFL, there's reason to believe the Commanders may look to make it three in a row.

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