Cincinnati’s offense leads the NFL in passing. The Bengals own the NFL’s second-most efficient unit in the red zone and only five teams have scored more points per game. Still, the organization hasn’t signed Ja’Marr Chase to a long-term contract.
The wide receiver’s price just got more expensive after he earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his other-worldly efforts on Monday night. Chase joined NFC winner Sam Darnold as recipients of the weekly offensive awards on Wednesday.
Had the Bengals (6-7) locked up Chase prior to the season, they would’ve saved a Brink’s Truck of cash. Now, fans, media, teams and past and present players — current quarterback Joe Burrow and former Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer among them – are wondering what that offense will look like a year from now. Unless the Bengals can work salary-cap miracles to retain Chase and Tee Higgins, the fear is they’ll look a lot like the team that waited to sign its best players this past offseason – ironically the team Cincinnati beat on Monday night – Dallas.
Chase ensured he’ll soon sign the most lucrative receiver contract in NFL history, either with the Bengals or a team to which the Bengals trade him, in helping Cincinnati beat the Cowboys, 27-20. He posted 14 catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns, his sixth career game with at least 175 yards, tied for the second most by a player in his first four seasons in NFL annals.
Enjoying one of the best seasons all-time, Chase enters Week 15 leading the NFL in the triple-crown categories of receptions (93), receiving yards (1,319) and receiving touchdowns (15).
Chase picked up his fourth career Offensive Player of the Week honor, becoming the fifth wide receiver this century to win the award four times (Amari Cooper, Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson and Julio Jones also won it four times each). Cincinnati needs a win at Tennessee (3-10) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX) to avoid postseason elimination.
Like Chase, Darnold was outstanding last week. In fact, in Minnesota’s 42-21 win over Atlanta, Darnold turned in arguably one of the top-10 single-game performances ever by a quarterback. He completed 22 of 28 attempts (78.6 percent) for 347 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions and a 157.9 passer rating. Only nine players in NFL history and none since Aaron Rodgers on Oct. 20, 2019, have passed for 325 yards and five touchdowns with a completion percentage of at least 75.0 and a rating of 155.0 or higher.
The quarterback captured his second weekly honor from the NFL but his first since 2019 with the Jets, and may have convinced the Vikings they need to keep him from hitting the free-agent market this spring.
Darnold is the second former Southern California quarterback to win Offensive Player of the Week with multiple franchises, joining Palmer (Cincinnati and Arizona). The Vikings (11-2) play in the first game of a staggered Monday Night Football doubleheader, hosting Chicago (4-9). Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
For more information on the Bengals and Vikings, visit the Cincinnati and Minnesota team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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