Steelers Now
CINCINNATI — Facing a revamped Pittsburgh Steelers secondary, Ja’Marr Chase wasn’t surprised with the scheme or matchup in front of him. The Cincinnati Bengals’ receivers basked in it, actually.
Chase finished the 33-31 Cincinnati win with the most targets (23) a player has seen in a single game this season and tied for the ninth-most all-time. His 16 receptions set a Bengals franchise record.
“I didn’t even know I had 16 (catches), if I’m being honest,” Chase said afterward. “I thought I had, like, nine. … It didn’t feel like that many.”
A good chunk of those grabs came with Jalen Ramsey trying to stick to him. Mike Tomlin’s defense tried to change things up in what it ran to no avail. The Bengals’ No. 2 wideout, Tee Higgins, neared 100 yards while Chase topped 160.
“I had a lot of man. They doubled on third down, for real, trying to mix it up a little bit, but they did exactly what we (were) expecting and hoping they’d do,” Chase said. “We knew they was gonna put Joey (Porter Jr.) on Tee and Jalen on me. We knew that. We was ready for it and we was gonna take advantage of those opportunities.”
Ramsey had made it a point to claim the task of covering Chase during a training camp appearance on “The Pivot” podcast. The Steelers also had Porter try to check last season’s triple crown winner, but pass interference calls haunted him once again.
“I mean, we’ve got the guys to do it,” Porter said afterward of covering the two high-end wideouts. “They’ve just gotta let us play. … I wasn’t a big fan of the calls today with the officiating, but it is what it is. It’s football.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Ja’Marr Chase Reveals Concerning Steelers Defensive Trend
