Last season, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase joined Jerry Rice as the only player to reach an impressive milestone. In Week 5 of the 2023 season, Chase capped off the day with 15 catches for 192 yards and three touchdowns. Nobody besides him and Rice has been able to do that since 1950.
Less than a year later, Chase joined Rice and a few other notable names as he got another milestone in the Bengals 34-24 win over the Carolina Panthers yesterday.
It was the Bengals' first win of the season after a sluggish start, making this all the sweeter.
Chase finds himself in company with Rice, Randy Moss, Odell Beckham Jr., and former Bengal A.J. Green as a wide receiver with 4,000+ receiving yards and 30+ touchdowns in their first 50 games in the NFL.
What helped Chase get into this exclusive group was a stellar performance yesterday. Chase had a light Sunday afternoon with three catches for 85 yards and one touchdown. Chase would also get their one game quicker than A.J. Green did.
Chase has been compared to some of the best contemporary wide receivers in the league ever since the Bengals picked him back in 2021 to rejoin LSU buddy Joe Burrow.
Being lumped into a special group of receivers wasn't even just all that happened to Chase yesterday in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Bengals wide receivers' touchdown catch and run would also tie him with Tyreek Hill for the most touchdown catches of 40+ yards since 2021.
Chase's touchdown number in correlation with that stat is 13. It's his third touchdown in two weeks after scoring twice last week on Monday Night Football.
With Chase joining the likes of other Hall of Famers yesterday, one can't help but wonder how much more he can accomplish as his career continues. It's still early to tell where he will stand among the greats.
