All offseason, the Cincinatti Bengals and Ja'Marr Chase were the biggest story in the NFL as the Bengals couldn't come to a contract agreement with their superstar wide receiver. The move by the Bengals never made any sense as they should pay Chase like the receiver that he is and there was no winning scenario as if Chase played poorly the team would have poor results.
The move also kept Chase away from practice for most of the offseason which kept the Bengals from hitting an early rhythm starting off 1-4. The Bengals lost on Thursday Night but, it was to no fault of Ja'Marr Chase.
Ja'Marr finished the game with an incredible stat line catching 11 passes for 264 yards and 3 touchdowns as he was open all night. On his first touchdown, Chase made it look easy beating the Ravens defense for 67 yards.
JA'MARR CHASE 67-YARD TD!#CINvsBAL on Prime Video
— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2024
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/WSWDdsiGZP
After the Bengals took the lead late in the fourth quarter, Chase did it again running right past the defense with Joe Burrow finding him with the perfect deep ball.
BURROW TO CHASE AGAIN OMG#CINvsBAL on Prime Video
— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2024
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/LbKoTxaa1B
The Bengals defense did the offense no favors letting the Ravens march right back down the field leaving the Bengals little to no time to score a touchdown. That didn't matter as Joe Burrow engineered the perfect two minute drive with Ja'Marr Chase beating double coverage for his third score of the night.
JA'MARR CHASE AGAIN. @BENGALS SCORE. pic.twitter.com/N3CqUCI2ti
— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2024
The Bengals could've sent this game to overtime but, the Bengals went for two and didn't convert falling to 4-6. Joe Burrow was incredible all night as well completing 34 of 56 attempts for 428 yards and four touchdowns.
The Bengals Risky Bet isn't paying off
The Bengals made a risky bet not paying Ja'Marr Chase and the best case scenario was they saved some money on an extension. As things currently stand, Ja'Marr ranks second in the league in yards, third in the league in catches, and first in the league in touchdowns. This offseason there were rumors that Chase wanted to top Justin Jefferson's record setting contract, after this season the Bengals will have no choice but, to beat that number.