Insane Ja'Marr Chase Stat Shows How Badly Bengals Offense Is Performing
It's been a rough start to the year for Chase.
When you’re an NFL wide receiver, you hardly ever have to think about playing defense (unless you’re Travis Hunter). Unfortunately for Ja’Marr Chase, he’s been doing too much of that so far.
In Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow injured his toe so badly that in all likelihood, he’s out for the season. Since then, it's been a massive struggle for the Bengals, especially on offense, where Jake Browning is now under center.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 21: Ja'Marr Chase #1 of the Cincinnati Bengals looks on before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
In the three games since Burrows injury, they have:
- Lost to the Vikings 48-10
- Lost to the Broncos 28-3
- Lost to the Lions 37-24
Yeah, it’s been rough. Browning is a good quarterback, but he’s getting outclassed.
Chase, despite being one of the best receivers in the game, has also struggled in that stretch. He’s only caught 183 receiving yards and two touchdowns in both those games, bringing him to 374 and three on the year, respectively.
With a healthy Burrow, Chase would be putting up much more impressive numbers. But that doesn’t even begin to show how bad of a season it's been for him.
Chase currently has three receiving touchdowns, while also posting five tackles.
Yes, that’s a real stat.
Chase, a wide receiver, has more tackles than receiving touchdowns this season.
That is in large part because Browning is trying to get Chase the ball (rightly so), but he keeps getting picked off. As a result, Chase is often right there to make the tackle. On Sunday alone, that scenario (a Browning ball for Chase picked off followed by a Chase tackle) happened twice times against the Lions (Chase's third tackle did not come after a target).
Surely, it can’t get worse, right? It actually might. Cincinnati’s next game is against Green Bay, and they can give anyone nightmares. After that, the schedule doesn’t get much either.
Chase might have the chance to add to his tackle total in short order, but I doubt he wants the season to go that way.