Ja’Marr Chase just keeps chasing Bengals and NFL records

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had one target. In fact, he had many goals. He just doesn’t talk about all of them.

One he’s talking about is the Bengals’ single-season record for most receiving yards in a season, and that’s primarily because he accomplished it in Sunday’s win over Brown.

Chase entered the day needing 43 yards to surpass his own record of 1,455, and he hit that mark on his fourth catch midway through the second quarter. He finished with six receptions for 97 yards, giving him 1,510 on the year and making him the 57th player in NFL history to record 1,500 receiving yards in a season.

“It feels good” Chase said after the game. “It’s something I wanted to do. Being competitive, I want to compete with myself, so it was a good thing I did it. It was a goal for me.”

His final catch of the day was a game-ending 32-yard touchdown reception that almost didn’t happen as Chase wanted to see rookie Jermaine Burton get playing time instead.

“There were two minutes left on the clock and I said to Troy (Walters), ‘I feel good. Get Jermaine (Burton) in and let him get some (playing time),'” Chase said. “I was looking for Jermaine. He said, ‘The other play is ‘Whiskey,’ so you might want to take this play,’ and I was like, ‘Okay, fine.’

“So I went out there and it was just nothing but God at the time it was called.”

It’s been a challenging year for Burton, so Chase’s willingness to give up reps for his teammate is something Bengals fans will love to see.

No one outside the team seems to be quite sure what a “Whiskey” is, but whatever it is, it worked.

“It’s a blessing, man,” Chase continued. “Honestly, it’s a blessing. To sit here and say I didn’t feel like going into the last game and that one catch got me to 1,500. So it’s nothing but a blessing and I could not have been happier, but thank God at that time.”

In addition to surpassing the 1,500-yard mark, Chase now has 108 receptions and 16 touchdowns on the season. He is the third player ever with at least 100 receptions, 1,500 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns in the first 15 games of a season, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Randy Moss (2003) and Jerry Rice (1995).

Chase now leads the league in catches, yards and touchdowns. He is on pace to become only the 12th player in NFL history to win the receiving triple crown. He has made Pro Bowl every year since he was drafted with the 5^th selection of 2021 NFL Draftbut that was never one of his goals.

“It’s expected of me now,” he said, “but I’ve got All-Pro up there. The Pro (Bowl) was never up there. It was always All-Pro.”

Oh, and there’s one more goal Chase is willing to talk about. How about the NFL record for most receiving yards in a season, currently held by Calvin Johnson with 1,964 yards?

“Yeah, I mean when it happens I’ll get to it,” he said, “but right now I’ve got to stay in the moment and take it one game at a time. I’m just living in the moment, man. Enjoying this process.”

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