Not that long ago, Cincinnati Bengals wideout Ja’Marr Chase spoke very candidly about his team’s struggles.
Fast forward to now, he’s doing so again as the Bengals prep to take on the New York Jets and hope to avoid an 0-3 start.
Chase was inevitably asked about Joe Burrow and how the star passer looks after two games. But as many have alluded to, including us here, the slow start doesn’t look all that much different from Burrow’s struggle-filled two games to start last year.
“I don’t think he looks any different, man,” Chase said, according to ESPN’s Ben Baby. “Hes going to be OK. He’s going to be perfectly fine.” Pointed out how the discourse was similar after last year’s Week 2 loss to CHI.
Burrow indeed looked rough over two games last year before blowing the Steelers out of the water in Week 3. There was always a question as to whether he would start slow this year too after the start of his training camp was derailed by the appendix surgery.
Chase also fielded the inevitable question about the Bengals struggling against Cover 2 defense:
Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase, on the struggles vs. Cover 2 this year compared to '21: "We probably didn’t expect it so early. That’s probably why it could be the case. But we just gotta adjust on-the-fly to it. I think we’ll be better now that we’ve seen it these first two games."
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) September 22, 2022
On paper, the Bengals probably should have known more Cover 2 looks were coming their way as defenses adapt to their film. But either way, if Chase is spot-on, his offense’s adjustments should coincide nicely with Burrow’s return to form in the coming weeks.
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