For the first time ever Monday night (8:15-Cincinnati’s Channel 9), a reigning Triple Crown winner in Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase plays a defending Defensive Player of the Year in Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II.

And they really will play each other. Last time the two teams met late last season, according to the NFL, Surtain covered Chase on 36 of his 60 routes.

But it's just another day at the office for Chase.

"Every matchup is the same, man. Those guys still have respect for me. I've got respect for those guys, so I'm treating them like another person," Chase said after Friday's practice.

"It's another matchup that's in my way. I've been going against Pat my whole life. It's not something I need to be excited for. I've been seeing him my whole life, so it's not a matchup I've got to be ready for."

What Chase meant is it's not a matchup that's going to take him by surprise. LSU's Chase first played him when Surtain was at Alabama, and he has high regard for him.

"Just how patient he is," Chase said. "He's really, really good, really patient, tall (6-2) corner and he's long, so you know that's the benefit of his."

It's one of the few times that the 6-0 Chase won't have a height advantage. But that didn't prevent him from racking up 102 yards on nine catches when the Bengals beat the Broncos in overtime last December at Paycor Stadium.

According to the NFL, of those 36 coverage snaps, Surtain was in man coverage on 29 Chase routes and Chase was targeted six times for three catches and 27 yards. Against other Broncos defenders, he had nine targets for six catches and 75 yards.

"I still got 100 yards, so I don't care," Chase said of evaluating the matchup. You can't tell me he even stopped me."

Encore?

Chase and partner-in-shine Tee Higgins aren't wondering what they can do for an encore. They're simply looking to get the win that makes the Bengals 3-1 like they were when they went to the Super Bowl a few years ago.

It will be recalled it was just six games ago the Bengals beat the Broncos in overtime at Paycor Stadium behind their superstar efforts. Higgins' 133-yard extravaganza included three touchdowns and the walk-off winner while Chase spun for 102 yards and nine catches.

"It was a great game, but it's a new season," Higgins said after Friday's practice. "Last week was probably, for a lot of the guys in the locker room, their worst loss since they've been in the league. We've got to bounce back and be a better football team. Just come together as a team. Put that game behind us, learn from it, and get better the next week and execute."

Chase has a bigger focus than Surtain. Like the 'C,' on his chest after his first-half fumble was one of five turnovers last week. It doesn't happen very often. It was just the fourth lost fumble of his five-year career and his first since Christmas Eve, 2022.

"I've got to take accountability for my mistakes. I had a fumble. That's on me. As a captain, I've got to look up to myself and look up to the guys and be a leader," Chase said. "It's all me, but he just made a good play. I didn't see him. That's usually the guys who make the best punches, the ones you don't see."

Chase admits he's reigned in his emotions since being voted captain and is trying to make the rounds this week.

"Since I'm a captain now, a lot more eyes are on me than usual. It's just controlling my emotions now and being a leader," Chase said. "I think the best thing to do is probably get on some of the guys. I would want them to do the same thing to me if they see me fumbling again. Let me know what I did wrong, but get on them without crushing their spirits. Giving them enlightenment without getting down on them."

How Does VJ Play It?

Old friend Vance Joseph, the Broncos defensive coordinator who led the Bengals secondary during the 2014-15 playoff runs, told the Denver press Friday he thought his unit held up pretty well last season since it was 17-17 until 1:29 left in regulation.

"Joe (Burrow) is not there this year, but the team's not different as far as the skill people. They have great skill," Joseph said. "They have two receivers that are Top 10 or 12 in the league. The tight end, (No.) 88 (tight end Mike Gesicki) is a special player. (Running back Chase) Brown is a special player at the halfback position. That challenge is still there.

"The guy that's playing for them, (Jake Browning) has played in NFL games. He's a veteran player. He can operate at a high level. He's not Joe Burrow, but the offense is still intact. Those skill guys who can make explosive plays are still intact. Our focus is to keep the explosive players from hurting us, and to play cleaner and smarter."

From what Higgins saw last year, VJ played primarily man, mixed in some zone, and he thinks that's part of the reason he and Chase went off. He says he has no idea what they'll do Monday night, except that they seemed to be doing the same stuff in the first three weeks.

Last week, Denver let one get away when Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw for 93 yards and put up ten points in the last 4:12.

"A lot of man. Pat followed me the whole game," Chase said. "Threw a little double-teams at me with man. Didn't really see too much cloud, played a little two-man, played a little six (defensive backs) strong when I was (in the slot). Cloud toward Tee's side."

Translation: They'll no doubt mix it up again.

"Their guy made a play, and we didn't make the play. We had him (Herbert) in the backfield. We have to finish the sack and make the play obviously on the scramble," Joseph said of his own angst against the Chargers.

"I think those plays are going to happen in NFL games as far as their best players making plays. My focus is us playing better and cleaner football for four quarters so these games don't come down to one play. It's never one play. Right now, the penalties are killing us, and it's been two weeks of that. I have to coach that out of our players."

Chase and Higgins hope they keep the Broncos talking about the best players making plays.

Slants and Screens

No big surprises on the Bengals' Friday injury report. Tight end Noah Fant (concussion) and defensive lineman Shemar Stewart (ankle) didn't practice for a second straight day …

Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt (hamstring) went limited for the second straight day, but head coach Zac Taylor expressed confidence on Thursday that he could play in Denver …

This week, Broncos head coach Sean Payton gave his media a primer on Browning.

"There's a stretch where Joe was injured a couple of years ago where this quarterback is accurate, in rhythm, all of those things," Payton said. "First down is important if you allow him to get going. They've won a lot of games and played well with him … It's not like the backup is a different type of player. He's a pocket passer … It'd be different if all of a sudden a guy it's a guy who scrambles, runs. We would defend the offense, because the offense really hasn't changed." …