Ja’Marr Chase has all of the answers in the Cincinnati Bengals offense
On Oct. 15, 2022, the night before the Cincinnati Bengals beat the New Orleans Saints, Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had some free time in his hometown. Instead of going to his favorite restaurant or spending time with family, Chase went to an extra meeting.
Every Saturday night, the Bengals quarterbacks and coaches play a modified version of Jeopardy. The questions are all about the Bengals’ game plan. This time, Chase participated as a guest picker.
He got the chance to answer two questions. Since Chase wasn’t a regular in these games, his answers were worth double the points. Then Chase was dealt one of the toughest questions of the day.
Chase’s question was about the Bengals’ pass protection plan. He shocked everyone by rattling off the answer. In that moment, Chase showed the biggest difference between the player he was as a rookie and the better player he has been this season.
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Last year, Chase always knew the route he was running. But he hadn’t fully grasped yet what the other 10 players on the field were doing around him on every play. He admitted he didn’t know which read he was on every snap. That changed during his second year in the NFL.
Now, Chase knows the Bengals’ offense as well as anyone. It’s unlocked an even greater role for him in the offense.
“He has proven to us that he is capable of understanding anywhere we want to put him,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “That’s the weapon we’ve got with Ja’Marr, and you have to be creative and utilize him.”
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In the Bengals’ second-round win over the Buffalo Bills, Taylor leaned into a package that featured Chase in the backfield. The Bengals had experimented with it over the last two seasons, but only for a few plays. As Chase’s knowledge of the offense expanded, Taylor gained more confidence moving him all over the field.
Last season, Chase was almost exclusively an outside receiver. He specialized in catching deep balls and back shoulder throws. Then after his rookie season ended, Taylor wanted to find some solutions to keep Chase involved when teams tried to double-team him.
That led to two big adjustments. First, they added an entire section of the playbook that used Chase in the slot. In the first round of the playoffs this year, against a Baltimore Ravens defense that took away the deep half of the field, Taylor used Chase in the slot more than ever, including on a touchdown in the red zone. For the first time all season, they featured Chase as quarterback Joe Burrow’s No. 1 target on run-pass-options.
Then against the Bills, the Bengals used Chase in the backfield on four big plays. The Bills weren’t prepared for that wrinkle, and it was a key part in the Bengals taking an early 14-0 lead.
“(Zac) was being creative with coverages, with disguises, the blitz pickups, everything,” Chase said. “That was part of the game plan, moving me around. Getting the defense all shifted and stuff. It’s being creative. It means the defense got to (worry) about what we’re going to do.”