Tag: Ja’Marr Chase

WATCH: Just like they use to on Saturdays, Joe Burrow finds Ja’Marr Chase

Nothing has changed. Joe Burrow finds Ja’Marr Chase for their first NFL touchdown connection.

The NFL season returned on Thursday night but in the early action on Sunday, two former LSU Tigers were looking to get things rolling for the Cincinnati Bengals.

In his first game back for the Bengals, quarterback Joe Burrow was looking for his former target, Ja’Marr Chase. Let’s just say it doesn’t look like anything has changed since the 2019 College Football Playoffs national championship game.

Thus far in the game, Burrow has completed 11/13 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns against the Minnesota Vikings. Burrow found Chase on three different occasions totaling 80 yards with one touchdown. Chase has come under criticism, but it appears that he is looking to quiet them down very early in his career.

As the game heads into halftime, the Bengals are on top 14-7 over the Vikings. Joe Burrow looks solid in his regular-season game since the horrific injury, while Chase made history as the first Bengal to ever wear No. 1 in a game.

Check out these highlights from the former LSU dynamic duo:

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Watch: Ja’Marr Chase torches Vikings for first NFL TD

Uno has fully arrived.

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It didn’t take long for Ja’Marr Chase to prove he’s a game-changing presence for the Cincinnati Bengals.

After a couple of big-time catches in the second quarter on a scoring drive, Chase and the Bengals took the field one last time for another drive before halftime.

Chase made his biggest play yet on that final drive, torching the Vikings defense deep for a 50-yard touchdown from Burrow.

To say a packed house at Paul Brown Stadium went wild would be an understatement, especially after weeks of chatter about the rookie’s drop issues that popped up during preseason games.

The score wasn’t just big for Chase either — it gave the Bengals a lead going into halftime before they got the ball back to start the third quarter.

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Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase clear major hurdles on Bengals’ first TD drive of season

Burrow and Chase looked great on the team’s first touchdown drive of the year.

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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and fifth-overall draft pick Ja’Marr Chase cleared some notable hurdles in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

On a solid touchdown march down the field to tie things up at seven just before halftime, Chase caught a pair of big passes, including first downs. That should serve to silence any critics or doubters about his drop issues that popped up during preseason games.

And Burrow? After taking several hits earlier in the first half, he capped off the smooth touchdown drive with a scoring pass to Tee Higgins, flashing some “9 to 85” action for good measure.

Some highlights:

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Vikings DB sends shot at Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase ahead of Week 1 showdown

Some fun trash talk before the Bengals play the Vikings in the opener.

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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has been in the headlines plenty leading up to his team’s season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

One thing Chase probably didn’t think would generate headlines? His tweeting out what seems to be a prediction for this weekend’s game and getting public trash talk in response from a Vikings player.

But that’s what unfolded Friday afternoon when Vikings cornerback Kris Boyd decided to fire back at Chase’s relatively harmless message on social media, which simply said “1-0.”

Based on Boyd’s response, it would seem he disagrees with the idea the Bengals will emerge winners when they host the Vikings this weekend:

That’s certainly one way to spice up an unorthodox cross-conference matchup.

Chase can make his response on the field, where he’ll have to prove he’s past his drop issues that plagued his preseason showings and prompted him to clap back at some critics this week.

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Ja’Marr Chase takes issue with coverage of his drop struggles

Chase claps back.

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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was recently the subject of scrutiny by an outlet that picked up some of his recent comments about the size of NFL footballs and equated it to his struggles so far.

Now Chase has responded publicly.

Pro Football Talk framed a recent article by suggesting Chase said NFL footballs are harder to catch and see without the stripes found on college footballs.

Chase took to social media to shoot that idea down: “haha i never said it was hard to catch. they asked me what the difference was in the ball💀. don’t change my words!!!”

PFT posted the article three days after the interview with Chase happened. Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com originally transcribed the interview, which features Chase talking about bad habits and a lack of concentration causing his recent drop issues.

He was also asked about the size of the pro footballs and if that wasn’t having an impact:

“I don’t want to blame it on me sitting on my butt the whole year, but it probably had something to do with it, of course. There’s a bigger ball adjustment, so I don’t want to make excuses but I’ve just got to be a pro and make the catch.

The ball is different because it is bigger.  doesn’t have the white stripes on the side so you can’t see the ball coming from the tip point so you actually have to look for the strings on the ball at the top, which is hard to see because whole ball is brown and you have the six strings that are white. But for the most part, just have to get used to it and find out what I am comfortable with catching.”

Point is, Chase was asked about the difference and he elaborated. There was nothing wrong with a reporter asking him to do so and he got genuine in the moment. It’s far from the only thing he listed as an issue that plays into his early struggles, which would explain why he’s not happy about the reporting on the topic.

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Ja’Marr Chase explained his struggles with drops so far and it sounds extremely concerning

Absolutely none of this sounds good.

Ja’Marr Chase was an absolute stud at LSU. He caught 20 touchdowns his sophomore season with Joe Burrow under center and helped lead the Tigers to a national championship.

He sat out the next season with his draft stock pretty much solidified as a top-10 pick and a pandemic raging on, which still feels like the correct decision.

But now, it seems, the magic he had in college with Joe Burrow just hasn’t really translated at all to Cincinnatti. At least not so far.

Chase struggled mightily this preseason with holding on to the ball. His drops have been a huge issue.

He was asked about the issue by Bengals.com and his response was, well, it was very concerning.

Basically, he’s not used to catching NFL balls.

“The ball is different because it is bigger. It doesn’t have the white stripes on the side so you can’t see the ball coming from the tip point so you actually have to look for the strings on the ball at the top, which is hard to see because the whole ball is brown and you have six strings that are white. But for the most part, just have to get used to it and find out what I am comfortable catching.” 

None of that sounded good. Absolutely none of it. Chase is actually telling us he struggles to catch NFL balls because he’s not seeing them. And you never want to hear that from the number 5 overall draft pick.

Of course, not all is lost. He just struggled in the preseason. It happens. We’ve seen his talent and, while this is concerning, it doesn’t wipe any of that away.

He continued to say “There’s a bigger ball adjustment, so I don’t want to make excuses but I’ve just got to be a pro and make the catch.” So it’s clear he knows what he needs to do.

Let’s just hope he does it.

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Where do LSU players stand in CBS Sports’ 2021 NFL Draft projections?

LSU wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall Jr. are listed as first-round selections in CBS Sports’ updated mock draft.

The LSU Tigers may not repeat as national champions this season, but they will certainly have many players selected in the 2021 NFL draft.

Wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall Jr. are almost locks to be selected in the first round.

There are a handful of teams in the NFL that could use Chase and/or Marshall on the outside in the pass catching scheme. But where do those two Tigers end up for their professional careers?

On Tuesday, CBS Sports updated their mock draft, and Chase and Marshall Jr. are still the only two Tigers selected in the first round.

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Round 1, Pick 7: Ja’Marr Chase (Washington Football Team)

The Washington Football Team has experienced many issues on the offensive side of the ball so far this season. The team’s 2-5 record is indicative of just how poorly their offense has been playing.

In offensive rankings, Washington ranks 30th in total offense with 292.7 yards per game. On the receiving end, the Football Team ranks 27th in the league at 217.7 reception yards per game.

Former LSU Tigers wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase could help Washington out tremendously in increasing those numbers.

His athletic ability to catch any pass thrown his way and to make moves against defenders and earn separation at the line of scrimmage would give the team a new star on the outside.

Terry McLaurin, Washington’s best wideout, could use help on the opposite end, and Chase could provide that.

While his final destination on draft day continues to bounce around, Chase will certainly be a top-10 pick in next year’s draft.

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Round 1, Pick 24- Terrace Marshall Jr. (Baltimore Ravens)

Marshall continues to be the leading receiver in Baton Rouge this year. Despite a new quarterback and passing game coordinator, the Tigers’ junior receiver climbs the draft boards after each game.

So far for the 2020 season, Marshall Jr. has 540 yards on 31 receptions with nine touchdowns. With five games to go in the regular season, his numbers will continue upward.

The Ravens have weapons on the outside with Marquise Brown leading the way on the outside. Willie Snead IV and Myles Boykin are the team’s other two star receivers.

Adding Marshall would give Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson a fourth weapon — and possibly the No. 2 receiver — to throw to on the outside.

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