If any team in the NFL deserves a little luck to influence the outcome of a game, it’s the Cincinnati Bengals. Seven of Cincinnati’s eight losses this season have come by just one score. Quarterback Joe Burrow has been sensational, as has fourth-year wideout Ja’Marr Chase – both of whom lead the league in touchdowns for their respective positions. Yet despite the offense’s excellence. The Bengals are suffering through a brutally disappointing season.
It looked as if Cincinnati would once again end up on the wrong side of a close game when the refs blew a blatant face mask call after Burrow nearly had his head popped off by a defender on a crucial play. But the Bengals hung in there and fortune eventually favored the team when Cincinnati linebacker Maema Njongmeta recovered a punt near midfield with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter in their Monday night matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
On the ensuing drive, Burrow found Chase for a 40-yard touchdown pass that proved to be the game-winner. When time expired, Chase had collected 14 receptions for 177 yards and two scores.
After yet another remarkable individual performance, Chase leads all of football with 15 receiving touchdowns on the season. Now Chase is chasing history. Wideout Carl Pickens set the franchise record with 17 receiving touchdowns in the 1995 season. Chase needs just two scores to tie and three to break the all-time Bengals’ receiving touchdown record, per Jay Morrison on X. And he has four more games to get it done. He’s currently on pace for about 20 touchdowns, so he should pull off the feat.
Ja’Marr Chase has the Bengals’ receiving TD record in his sights
Dec 9, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) scores a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium.
Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
The former Offensive Player of the Year already wrote his name in the NFL record book this season. Chase eviscerated the Ravens in 2024, racking up 457 receiving yards in his two contests against the team this year. That mark set the record for the most ever by a wideout against one opponent in a single season. Of course, Baltimore won both games.
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Despite the exciting road victory Monday night against the Cowboys, who fell to just 1-6 at home this year, the 5-8 Bengals don’t have much to play for. They’re now the 10th seed in the AFC and three games out of the final Wild Card berth.
The defense has been historically bad, allowing at least 34 points in each of Cincinnati’s three straight losses heading into Week 14. The lack of support on the defensive side of the ball has left Chase feeling like the offense needs to score on every possession.
The extremely disappointing season for such a talented team has led to questions about head coach Zac Taylor’s future now that Cincinnati is on the verge of missing the playoffs for the second straight season and the fourth time in his six years with the Bengals. That pill is even harder to swallow with Burrow playing at an MVP level and Chase looking like some unstoppable Calvin Johnson-Jerry Rice hybrid.