WATCH: Ja'Marr Chase sheds several tackles for 82-yard touchdown catch
Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase continued to impress Sunday against Baltimore as he broke out of many tackles on his way to an 82-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. The score put Cincinnati up 27-17 on the Ravens with a little less than six minutes to go in the quarter.
Chase so far has seven catches for 174 yards and a touchdown in the game. The fifth overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Chase spent his college days with the LSU Tiger. He was a member of the 2019 national championship team that also featured Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
Entering Sunday’s contest, the rookie had accumulated 27 catches for 553 yards and five touchdown on the season. He has already surpasses his season-high for yards in a game, which was previously 159 against Green Bay. If Cincinnati holds on to win, it would move into first place in the AFC North division.
Chase sat out the 2020 season, but put up eye-popping numbers as a sophomore in Baton Rouge. He finished the championship season with 84 catches for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns.
With 10:58 left in the game, Burrow had already put up a gaudy passing numbers. He was 23-of-38 passing for 416 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
The Bengals have not made the playoffs since 2015, when Andy Dalton was still the quarterback. They have a chance to snap that streak this season if things keep going the way they are. The victory against Baltimore would be their biggest statement of the season, though they also took Green Bay to overtime in Week 5.
Following this week against the Ravens, Cincinnati will travel to New York for a contest against the Jets. Ja’Marr Chase has a touchdown catch in five of the Bengals’ seven game so far, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him continue making his case for Rookie of the Year.