Chase money goes to the bank for Cincy

The Cincinnati Bengals mauled the Baltimore Ravens this Sunday. For the first time in many years NFL fans won’t circle the Bengals as a win on their calendars.

The Bengals suddenly explosive offense put the league on notice with a 41-17 statement win over the Ravens.

The additions of first overall pick Joe Burrow from the 2020 draft and fifth overall pick Ja’Marr Chase from the 2021 draft have injected high playmaking ability into the previously dormant offense.

Burrow played well last year during his rookie season but was consistently taking punishment behind a terrible offensive line.

This continuous pain eventually led to Burrow tearing his ACL in a nasty hit along the goal line.

This injury brought his otherwise impressive rookie campaign to an abrupt end and prompted many Bengals fans to pull for the organization to use their fifth overall pick on the best offensive lineman prospect in years.

The logic seemed obvious, fix the offensive line issues by selecting a generational talent at left tackle named Penei Sewell.

The Bengals zigged when most would have zagged and took Chase; Burrow’s former number one target at LSU.

The Bengals selection of Chase was one of the best moves the organization has made in years.

The selection of Burrow seemed obvious, they had the number one pick, had an obvious need at quarterback, and Burrow had arguably the best season of college football to date.

The selection of Chase came with more scrutiny from the fanbase and NFL talking heads.

A weapon on the outside is pivotal for an offense, it makes defenses respect the deep ball, and allows the offense to spread out which opens lanes for the run game.

However, we’ve seen the sad story play out repeatedly when an organization cannot protect their quarterback.

Usually, the offensive line is a necessity for a typical young quarterback to develop. In this case however, Burrow is not the typical young quarterback, and Chase is no ordinary weapon in the passing game.

Through seven weeks of the 2021 regular season the Burrow-Chase connection has been one of the best in the league.

There were reports early in training camp of Chase struggling with drops and adjusting to the NFL sized ball.

Chase took off the 2020 college football season due to concerns revolving around the pandemic, and Burrow also looked shaky in his return from injury, but those red flags quickly turned green once the season began.

Burrow’s typical cocktail of swagger and moxy has been on display throughout the entirety of the season. Burrow still has been taking heavy hits, but his toughness and confidence helps shake them off. Additionally, Chase brought over their chemistry from college and has been putting up monster numbers.

Chase’s ability to simply torch opposing corners on a go route is maddening. Chase is currently on pace to shatter Randy Moss’s rookie receiving record, as he is on pace to finish with 85 receptions for 1,831 yards and 15 touchdowns.

That would be almost 500 more yards than Moss his rookie year. Even with the extra game this season, we are witnessing possibly the greatest rookie season for a receiver in NFL history.

This pace will be hard to keep, but this Burrow-Chase connection should be deadly for years to come.