Chase Brown
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CINCINNATI, OHIO - NOVEMBER 23: Chase Brown #30 of the Cincinnati Bengals runs the ball against Carlton Davis III #7 of the New England Patriots during the second quarter at Paycor Stadium on November 23, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
The Cincinnati Bengals have spent most of this season searching for stability. The quarterback carousel hasn’t stopped spinning. The defense has leaked points. The standings have been unforgiving.
And yet, quietly, one part of the operation has found a rhythm that hasn’t existed here in years.
It belongs to Chase Brown.
The third-year running back is in the middle of one of the most efficient stretches of running the Bengals have seen during the entire Zac Taylor era.
Cincinnati sits at 4.4 yards per carry as a team, its best mark since 2018 when the offense finished at 4.7, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com.
Brown himself is at 4.3 for the season. Over his last five games, that number jumps to 6.0.
“I’ve changed my tempo,” Brown said this week. “Slowing it down, finding a rhythm. It allows me to find the running lanes and create explosive plays, just waiting for those blocks to develop.”
Brown is coming off a 107-yard performance and now owns five straight 100-yard scrimmage games, the longest active streak in the league. For a Bengals team that has battled adversity all season, that kind of consistency on the ground has become a lifeline.
Why the Bengals’ Run Game Suddenly Looks Different
The foundation of Brown’s surge begins with the offensive line, and he is quick to give them credit.
He pointed specifically to the blocking happening in the interior, coordinated around center Ted Karras.
“They’ve opened up a ton,” Brown said.
Cincinnati has quietly leaned more heavily into inside zone and duo concepts, asking the line to stay patient and create vertical displacement. Brown explained how that pairs with his new approach as a runner.
“They like to two-gap,” he said of opposing defensive linemen. “And when they jump one way, you can read it and go the other way.”
That patience is showing up on tape. Instead of attacking downhill immediately, Brown is letting linebackers declare their leverage. He is forcing hesitation. He is turning early penetration into cutback lanes. And once he clears the second level, the burst still plays.
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Cincy CMC #WhoDey
Chase Brown is averaging 21.3 touches and 123 total yards as the RB9 since Week 9 🔥
The Bengals have not suddenly become a dominant rushing team overnight. They still rank in the middle of the league in yards per carry. But relative to recent seasons under Taylor, this is tangible progress. Cincinnati has not produced consistent five-game rushing efficiency like this during the Burrow era. Brown has been the reason.
In past seasons, the run game often functioned as an accessory. This stretch marks the first time it has operated as a stabilizer. But Thursday, it’ll be interesting to see how Joe Burrow’s presence impacts the offense.. Because it most definitely will.
What It Means for the Bengals Right Now
Everything in Cincinnati is suddenly tethered to Thanksgiving. Burrow’s return is the headliner of the night.
He will be stepping into an offense that no longer has to ask him to fix everything by himself. That matters. A quarterback coming off a Grade 3 turf-toe injury does not need to drop back forty times behind a leaky run game. He needs the balance for Cincinnati to still have an outside chance to secure a Wild Card bid.
The window is tightening. And the Bengals now have a way to bridge to whatever version of their offense is waiting on the other side of Burrow’s return.
Brown has been performing how the coaching staff expected him to before the season. He’s up to 626 rushing yards on 145 attempts and two touchdowns in Week 13, while staring down his career-high in receptions (54 in 2024), with 41 receptions and a touchdown.
And in doing so, he may have given the Bengals their clearest functional path back to relevance before their Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.