Star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and the Cincinnati Bengals took out the Buffalo Bills Sunday night to win their fourth consecutive game.
Chase was somewhat quiet in the game, catching 4-of-8 targets for 41 yards. We now have somewhat of an explanation for his disappearing act.
In talking to reporters on Monday, the Pro Bowl wide receiver indicated that he suffered a back injury during a fall in the game. “All I can do is pray and be a good teammate and be there for those guys and try to get healthy. That’s the only thing I can do right now. Everybody is counting on me to be healthy,” Chase said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic.
That doesn’t sound like great news as it relates to Chase’s status against the Houston Texans in Week 10. He also expanded on the injury, providing more unfortunate updates in the process. “Pretty sore just moving around and the injury got worse as the game went on,” he said.
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Ja’Marr Chase stats (2023): 64 receptions, 697 yards, 4 TD, 69% completion
Prior to Sunday’s game, Chase had been on an absolute roll. That included catching 31 passes for 372 yards and four touchdowns during the first three games of Cincinnati’s current winning streak.
With Chase having a down performance on Sunday, fellow receiver Tee Higgins stepped up with his best performance of the season by catching eight balls for 110 yards.
All of this comes with the Bengals clicking on all cylinders after early-season injury issues relating to star quarterback Joe Burrow. All he’s done during this four-game streak is throw 10 touchdowns compared to two interceptions. Burrow also boasts a 100.5 QB rating when targeting Chase on the season.
Chase’s injury could very well be impactful for a Bengals team that still finds itself in last place in the AFC North despite a 5-3 record.
The Baltimore Ravens lead the division at 7-2 following a blowout win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Meanwhile, both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns find themselves at 5-3.
In terms of the AFC Playoff picture, Cincinnati is a half game ahead of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills for the seventh and final seed. The Houston Texanes (4-4), Indianapolis Colts (4-5), Las Vegas Raiders (4-5) and Los Angeles Chargers (3-4) are also in the mix.
We’ll have more updates on Ja’Marr Chase and this surprising injury once they become available. For now, it doesn’t seem like great news for the Cincinnati Bengals.