Perhaps overshadowed by the Cincinnati Bengals' string of high-scoring setbacks, Ja'Marr Chase has engineered a spectacular season that's approaching historic status.
It continued Monday, this time against the backdrop of a victory, as Chase's latest blockbuster showing saw him collect 14 receptions, 177 yards and two touchdowns.
It was Chase's second TD from Joe Burrow -- set up by a Dallas Cowboys punt block gone awry -- that propelled the Bengals to a 27-20 victory on Monday night.
Overlooked or not, Chase is now chasing a receiving triple crown, his output in prime time putting him atop the ąú˛úÍâÁ÷Ířleaderboard with 93 receptions, 1,319 yards and 15 touchdowns.
"We just can't give him the ball enough," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said not long after Chase's final catch snapped the Bengals' three-game losing streak. "We got it to him 14 times and it feels like you could still try to get it to him more and we did. In some of those moments, sometimes you just try to keep it simple and give playmakers the ball and it paid out for us."
Three seasons after the Los Angeles Rams' Cooper Kupp claimed the rare receiving triple crown, Chase has a chance to do it, as well. Though being able to make an argument for being the best receiver in football -- especially with an extension looming -- has meaning for Chase, it would be far better to be making that statement with a playoff run ahead. That was the case for Kupp, who aided mightily in the Rams winning Super Bowl LVI over Chase's Bengals when he was crowned.
"It would have been better if we had an opportunity to make the playoffs and I can show what I can really do," Chase said. "It's still cool to have that."
Chase, 24, racked up his fifth career game with at least 10 catches, 175 yards and multiple TDs, per ąú˛úÍâÁ÷ÍřResearch. No other player has that many in their career, whilst Chase still has a handful of games remaining in his fourth ąú˛úÍâÁ÷Ířseason.
He exceeded his career high for TD catches with a 5-yarder Monday in the first quarter to get the Bengals on the board.
His second -- and 15th of the year -- came just three plays after the Cowboys had blocked a Bengals punt. However, the punt went forward and Dallas' Amani Oruwariye tried to field the ball rather than get away from it. Cincinnati's Maema Njongmeta recovered the ball, breathing life into the Bengals.
"Fortunately, I guess I can say luck went our way on this one," Taylor said. "So, good job by Maema collecting the ball there and giving us another chance at it and taking advantage of it. It was a tough sequence of events leading up to that itself, but again fortunate that our guys were able to step up and make some plays to help us win the game."
Burrow then found a wide open and streaking Chase, whose 40-yard TD capped a stellar night for him and Cincinnati's losing skid.
"We got another opportunity with the offense, and we got to take advantage of finishing it," said Chase after lamenting his team's inability to finish this season, one in which it's gone 2-4 in games when Cincy scored 30-plus points.
Mathematically, the Bengals aren't out of the playoffs, but for all intents and purposes it's almost certain their season will end shy of the postseason.
Chase's run to a triple crown is going strong, though.
"He's a special player," said Burrow, lauding his teammate and endorsing him for a new, lucrative contract. "He continues to make plays after the catch, before the catch. Any way that you get him the ball, he makes plays. He deserves all he's gonna get and more."
Not all that long after Chase's touchdown had snapped the Bengals' losing streak, the star wide receiver smashed his quarterback with a The Simpsons-themed donut right in the face.
Burrow couldn't help but smile and hug his friend.
It was a fitting end, as Chase had smashed the Cowboys defense all night, his connection with Burrow propelling the Bengals to a much-needed win amid a trying season.
"I was told to do that, I didn't want to do that," Chase said of the donut treatment exacted on his QB. "And then he got me back.
"I think he got the best of me."
Win or lose, not many defenses have been able to say that about Chase during his sensational season.
