Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had a sideline moment with head coach Zac Taylor during Week 4 against the Denver Broncos. It quickly made headlines and marked a turning point in the Cincinnati Bengals‘ offensive strategy. Since then, Chase has taken center stage, torching top defenders and rewriting team records. Read on to see how.

Chase was the hero of their Week 7 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers (33-31). In just his second game with QB Joe Flacco, he made the record for most receptions in a single game in Bengals history with 16 receptions of 23 targets for 161 yards and 1 touchdown. The achievement made the coach spill their offensive secret.

“Our whole game plan is to get him the ball any which way,” he said. It’s been a long time coming. Chase is physical and dominates games whenever he gets a chance. This year, even with the starter Joe Burrow not playing since the turf toe and ligament damage in week 2, he hasn’t stopped.

In 6 games, Ja’Marr Chase has 58 receptions (5th in the league), 629 receiving yards (5th), and 5 scores (6th). Now, Flacco gives him enough balls to make some impact in the game.

The QB-WR duo sat with the TNF crew, where Flacco praised his WR1. He even cited a pass from the Week 6 loss against the Packers, where even the QB thought that the ball would go out of bounds. But Ja’Marr Chase caught it with such ease that even Flacco was impressed.

For the receiver, the game now has many special memories. In 69 games (68 starts), he has 453 receptions for 6054 receiving yards and 51 scores. This has put him in the elite company of Jerry Rice and Randy Moss, who also had 6,000+ receiving yards and 50+ receiving TDs in their first career 5 seasons.

More than anything, it was the supreme domination he displayed against the Steelers’ defense that left everyone speechless.

Ja’Marr Chase emerges as a force of nature

During an offseason interview on The Sitdown with Malik Wright, Chase listed his top 5 cornerbacks in the league. It had Jalen Ramsey in 3rd and Darius Slay in 4th place. It was respect, but the tensions flared when Ramsey said in The Pivot with Ryan Clark that he would win in a contest against the Bengals’ WR1.

The chance to back up his words came in Week 7, but cornerback Jalen Ramsey couldn’t stop Ja’Marr Chase. On a second-and-eight play at the Steelers’ 8-yard line, Chase beat Ramsey one-on-one with a sharp left cut and scored a touchdown. After the game, Ramsey looked disappointed and said little, only that the team needed to play better.

He outsmarted Slay, too, on many occasions. The CB left the game on the opening down of the 3rd quarter. He had just come back on the 2nd and 3rd down at the Steelers’ 48 at the 12:29 mark in the 3rd quarter. Flacco passed the ball, and Chase almost got past Slay. But the Steelers had two-man coverage on him.

Safety Chuck Clark also jumped on him while Slay caught him by the leg. Even then, he gained 16 yards for the team.

On the next play, he again gained 18 yards. So, Flacco and Zac Taylor combined their game and gave him chances. As Chase mentioned early in the season, he wants to win, and the only way he can do something for the team is if he gets the ball. Now, the Steelers jumped to 2nd place in the AFC North with 3 wins. It could be the start of a revival.