Ja’Marr Chase and the Cincinnati Bengals gave the Pittsburgh Steelers all they could handle earlier this season. Chase set the record for receptions against the Steelers with 16, and he added 161 yards and a touchdown on top of that. It was a rough day for the Steelers’ secondary. However, Pittsburgh has a chance to avenge that loss this week. Charles McDonald’s bold prediction for the week is that Chase will have an even bigger game against the Steelers.
“My Hail Mary is Joe Flacco lends his old team a hand and goes on the road to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, plus a 200-yard Ja’Marr Chase game in this one,” McDonald said Friday on the Football 301 podcast. “That’s my prediction. Bengals go on the road, win, plus 200 yards from Ja’Marr Chase.”
Chase has had 200 or more receiving yards in a game three times in his career. Most recently, he had 264 yards last season against the Baltimore Ravens. His record for yards in a game is 266, which came at the end of the 2021 season against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Therefore, he’s got the potential to have a game like that. It feels like it would be hard for Chase to top his first performance against the Steelers this season, but going for 200 yards would do it.
That would be disappointing to see from the Steelers, though. Chase dominated them once already. The Steelers have a lot invested into their defense, and for them to have no answers for a player not once, but twice in the same season wouldn’t be a good look.
Chase spoke after the Bengals’ Week 7 win over the Steelers about how Pittsburgh’s defensive game plan was exactly what Cincinnati thought it would be. That should motivate the Steelers to have a different plan of attack this week.
The Steelers’ defense has been better in recent weeks, too. Moving Jalen Ramsey to safety has helped stabilize Pittsburgh’s secondary. That group has allowed fewer explosive plays. This week will test its mettle, though. If Chase has such an explosive day, the Steelers’ chances at winning might be slim. We’ll see if the Steelers have a better plan to limit Chase this week. Hopefully, he falls well short of 200 yards.
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