Most people love a superstar who backs up trash talk with his play, and the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase has a lot of love. So, when he said this week that Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick doesn’t even appear on his “most-hated” list, go ahead and reserve time in that A block for Burrow-Chase highlights on Sunday night.
Chase’s actions, not his trash talk, thinned his wallet early in the 2022 season when the NFL fined him more than $23,000 for directing a pair of bird-like, single-fingered gestures in Fitzpatrick’s direction. While Chase that day put up 10 catches for 129 yards and a touchdown, Fitzpatrick returned an interception for a touchdown in a 23-20 win. In four career games against the Steelers, Chase has averaged 15.0 yards per reception (21 catches, 314 yards, three touchdowns).
No question, Chase is on top of the most-hated lists of multiple defensive coordinators. Prior to the Bengals’ bye week against the league’s best scoring defense, Chase caught two touchdowns. Overall this season, he leads the league with 1,056 receiving yards and 12 touchdown catches.
This week when Cincinnati (4-7) hosts first-place Pittsburgh (8-3) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS), Chase can use Fitzpatrick and the Steelers as a personal stepping stone. Since he entered the league in the 2021 draft, Chase leads the league with 41 touchdown receptions. He needs one to tie Rob Gronkowski (42) for No. 4 on the most all-time by a player in his first four seasons. Hall of Famers Randy Moss (53), Jerry Rice (49) and Bob Hayes (45) are the next names on that list.
Regardless of whether the Bengals finish the season in the playoffs, one thing’s certain: Cincinnati will be spoilers. And for defenses without effective plans to stop Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati can play a significant role in dictating which teams stay home in January.
“We’ve got to carry enough defense schematically,” said Mike Tomlin, who has Chase and Joe Burrow twice over his final six games. “But within that, we better perform at a high-enough level. You better do a lot of things.”
One of those things is to beat a team with a losing record. Pittsburgh is just 3-3 this year against teams currently with sub-.500 winning percentages, with losses to Indianapolis, Dallas and last Thursday night in snowy Cleveland. The Steelers are 5-0 against winning clubs, with victories over Atlanta, Denver, the L.A. Chargers, Washington and Baltimore.
For more information on the Bengals and Steelers, visit the Cincinnati and Pittsburgh team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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