Ja'Marr Chase says he loves playing Baltimore, which he'll do Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) at Paycor Stadium. But not because he owns three of the seven biggest receiving games against the Ravens in John Harbaugh's 18 seasons coaching the club.
"All those DBs are good work at the end of the day," Chase said after Thursday's practice. "From the nickel spot, to the outside, to the safeties, they're good competition across the board and just getting good work throughout the game."
So Chase can't explain why he has the biggest receiving game against Harbaugh with the 264 he dropped on Thursday Night TV last
year, or the fifth with his 201 in "The Calling Card Game," his rookie year in 2021, or the seventh with 193 he had in the overtime loss at Paycor last year.
"I feel like I play the best against everybody," Chase said. "Some games happen to be better than other games."
But this has been an ongoing deal. It was Harbaugh who famously uttered about Bengals great A.J. Green, "Maybe we'll cover him once before he retires," which could have been after the second biggest receiving game ever against the Ravens in the last 18 years. That was Green's career-high 227-yarder in the 2015 win in Baltimore. Wide receiver Tee Higgins is on that list at No. 6 with 194 of quarterback Joe Burrow's Bengals-record 525 yards in the 2021 Paycor win.
Higgins (concussion) may not be available Sunday after he went limited again Thursday. He didn't play two weeks ago in Baltimore during the Bengals' 32-14 win, when the Ravens "stopped" Chase on 110 yards. Cornerback Nate Wiggins left early that night and he's back.
The Ravens play an interesting brew of three safeties, but they're 26th in passing defense. Yet their secondary has formidable players such as vet cornerback Marlon Humphrey and versatile safety Kyle Hamilton.
"The DBs are all really smart. The younger one over there, No.2 (Wiggins), but still with Chido (Awuzie) and Marlon and all those guys, it's a really veteran group so that shows up with their communication," said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor this week. "How they are playing all the different defenses, their response to one of your responses. How quickly they get it communicated. It's all really impressive. Nothing is easy when you play against them.
"I don't know what position you really say (Hamilton) plays. I don't even know if he's listed as a safety, maybe that's probably the last position he plays right now. But he is really an effective defensive end, he's an effective linebacker, he's an effective nickel, he's an effective cover guy. So whatever spot you want to classify as that. He's really intelligent, he's really long, he's really strong. There's not a lot of weaknesses to his game."
Training Camp Nostalgia
Former Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie is going to get Bengals cornerback DJ Turner II's signed No. 20 jersey after the game. Awuzie already has the respect of Chase after that memorable rookie training camp.
"I won't trash-talk Chido. Out of respect," Chase said. "I like Chido. I like playing against him. He helped me when I was a rookie."
It's hard to believe now, but Chase, the reigning Triple Crown winner, looked unsure in that 2021 camp as he suffered through a bunch of drops in practice and preseason games. He says he and Awuzie had some great reps against each other, and that Awuzie helped him with technique and told him what he was seeing as a five-year vet at the time.
"Good guy. We kicked it outside the facility a few times," Chase said.
Now Chase is an All-Pro in his fifth straight 1,000-yard season, and he looks fondly at those 2021 DBs.
"I learned a lot from those guys," Chase said. "They're a part of this journey, too. Everyone of those guys."
Lamar Again
Coming off his worst outing against the Bengals in his 12th start against them with a 65 passer rating on Thanksgiving, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson went full in Thursday's practice after not working Wednesday. It's been a tough year. He has no injury listed, just rest.
The Bengals bruised him with an interception and two lost fumbles with constant pressure. Edge Myles Murphy says they have to replicate it Sunday.
"The thing with Lamar is you have to get him going east and west. Not north and south. That was good for us, Murphy said. "There was preparation. Knowing the game plan. Confidence in the game plan. Going 100 miles per hour. For that specific week , we put more edge rushers on the field, even at the three technique, to keep up with Lamar's feet and I think that showed that night."
The Bengals are looking to beat Jackson (4-0) at Paycor for the first time, scene of his first NFL start back in 2018 when Joe Flacco was his backup. On Sunday, Flacco is Burrow's backup.
Slants and Screens
Chase, who has known Burrow longer than any other teammate except maybe the Luehrman twins back in Athens, Ohio, isn't sure what to make of the meltdown reaction to Burrow's comments on Wednesday when he made the not-so stunning admission that losing and coming back from injury isn't fun.
"I see him the same every day. To me, he loves football," Chase said. "From what I see, I see the same person every day. He comes to work. He loves work. He doesn't look like he's bummed to be here, you know? He's the same every day." …
The Ravens didn't seem all that bummed that Chase went for 110 two weeks ago. He didn't wreck the game like he has so many times.
"We understand that they're going to take their shots. And then, on a couple of the catches that he had, we had coverage rolled his way," said Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr in Baltimore Thursday. "When we commit that we're going to take care of him, we can't let him catch the football. But, I thought the guys did a good job, all in all."
You know you're an All-Pro when a DC says this about you:
"He had … 14 targets and only caught seven passes. The thing that was really good was we didn't let him run after the catch. That's where he's really hurt us, and that's where they really get rolling is when he catches a slant or a dig route and runs for big, explosive plays. I thought we did OK. You never want a guy to get 100 yards, but we can be better, and we know what we can be better at." …
The Bengals officially put NFL sack champion Trey Hendrickson (core surgery) on injured reserve …
First-round edge Shemar Stewart (knee) moved closer to replacing him on the roster and getting off injured reserve Thursday when he had his second straight full practice …
Edge Joseph Ossai (shin) also went full for the second straight day …
