Not so ho hum as the beat goes on for Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase with his fifth Pro Bowl in his fifth season.

"It's a blessing to have an opportunity to get back," said Chase last week as the Bengals prepared for Sunday's game (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's FOX 19) against the Cardinals at Paycor Stadium. "It's a good compliment on my stacking my year. Being the same person every year."

The relentless annual numbers, for both a season and career, continue to stack in a Pro Football Hall of Fame tilt. With two games still left in this season, Chase, with 1,256 yards, is one of five players ever with 1,200 yards in four of their first five seasons. Also on that list are Hall-of-Famers Randy Moss and Lance Alworth, multiple Hall finalist Tory Holt, and Chase college chum Justin Jefferson.

Chase came into the holiday weekend fourth in the NFL in yards and second with 110 catches. How about this? Suddenly, all he needs is three balls to catch T.J. Houshmandzadeh's 507 for fifth place in franchise history and nine to pass old teammate Tyler Boyd for fourth place on the all-time Bengals list.

If you think that was quick, so does Chase. Especially when he's reminded he didn't go to the Pro Bowl when he was a rookie because he was in the Super Bowl.

"I forgot about that first year. Jeez. That went by fast," Chase said as he recalled attending his first Pro Bowl in his second season. "l'll never forget my (first) year, all the older guys made me do everything because I was the rookie. It's just funny with the older guys when I met them for the first time. I can't take it too seriously. Just enjoying the whole experience."

For the first time this year, the Pro Bowl festivities (skills competition, flag football game) are during the same week at the same site as the Super Bowl in the San Francisco area. That's often a time for players to tour Radio Row.

"I don't know how I feel about that yet," Chase said. "There's a lot of media gigs going on."

He'll certainly be a target. Chase also came into Sunday leading the NFL with 166 targets this season and is on target for 189, most by a player who played in 16-or-fewer games since Julio Jones had 203 targets 10 years ago. Chase won't get to play a full 17-game season because he was suspended for a game last month, but it hasn't stopped his go route against the Bengals greats. He's three touchdown catches from Isaac Curtis with 54 for fourth most in franchise history, and he needs 18 yards to pass Cris Collinsworth (6,698) for fifth place.

2020 Vision

For Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, the 2025 season has some resemblance to the 4-11-1 season of 2020, when the Bengals bounced back in 2021 to go to the Super Bowl as AFC North champs. So it's not a go-back-to-the-drawing-board offseason.

"We've seen this exact scenario," Taylor said after Friday's practice. "We've got people in place that I feel really good about. We'll build off of that into the offseason and come back and feel really good about next year.

"You hone in on pieces that we can continue to build around, and the progress they've made in the scheme that guys are really starting to understand what we're asking them to do so we'll be able to take the next step."

He agrees his offense is in much better shape going into 2026 than it was in 2021. And that includes an offensive line that has bridged quarterback Joe Flacco's six sudden starts beginning Oct. 12 through quarterback Joe Burrow's four comeback starts with top ten numbers in everything from yards, points, passing yards, yards per rush, and sacks allowed.

"I feel really good about each unit and position group," Taylor said. "I feel like we can consistently play better over the course of the season."

Slants and Screens

Backup cornerback Josh Newton, who injured his hamstring Friday and was questionable, was inactive Sunday. That opened it up for college free agent rookie Brayln Lux, who has been on the practice squad for most of the year, to make his NFL debut …

Before he played 32 snaps last week in the 45-21 win over Miami, Newton had played a combined 21 snaps with the emergence of Jalen Davis at nickel …

Also inactive because of injuries were returner Charlie Jones (ankle), edge Joseph Ossai (ankle), special teamer and safety P.J. Jules (ankle), and tight end Cam Grandy (chest). Also inactive was defensive tackle Jordan Jefferson …

Defensive tackle B.J. Hill (ankle) and tight end Noah Fant (ankle) were questionable but were active …

Burrow came in two touchdown passes shy of tying Carson Palmer (154) for fourth place on the all-time Cincy list …

Evan McPherson needed two field goals to tie Horst Muhlmann at 120 for fifth-most in franchise history …