There’s A Lot Riding On Cincinnati’s Other Chase
Credit: Kareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY Sports
Look at that: Ja’Marr Chase is suiting up with the Bengals for practice again. It’s a relief, even if the football media and Who Dey Nation were both confident he’d return at some point, even without a contract extension completed.
With Joe Burrow back at the helm, free of knee/wrist troubles, and equipped with his new Cody Rhodes “finish the story” haircut, the Bengals’ passing attack is as solid as it has ever been. Pairing a non-disgruntled Chase with Tee “I’d like a new deal, too” Higgins and Andre Iosivas, the Bengals receivers could be a near-impossible challenge for opposing secondaries this season.
Ja’Marr isn’t the only Chase on the Bengals roster, however. There’s a second one in Cincinnati, and he may be just as critical to the Bengals’ offensive fate as the star receiver he shares a name with. That is Chase Brown, the running back of the future(?).
With apologies to the canceled ESPN show of the same name, numbers never lie. If that’s true, 2024 isn’t just a chance for Brown to help boost the Bengals’ rushing attack, it’s a chance to re-make the entire offense. In 2023, the Bengals had the second-fewest rushing yards on the third-fewest attempts in the NFL. The previous season? Well, that wasn’t much better, as Cincinnati ranked 29th in both categories.
The Bengals didn’t always ignore the running game, even in the high-flying Burrow Era. By comparison, the Bengals’ 2021 Super Bowl season registered the third-most rushing attempts in the NFL. Even then, however, they only ranked 15th in rushing yards.
Needless to say, when other teams’ defensive coordinators are donning their best Bill Belichick scowls to scheme against Cincinnati, they aren’t exactly spending a lot of time worrying about the running backs. The Bengals ranked seventh in the NFL with 615 passing attempts in 2023 — even with Burrow’s wrist imitating the cartoon spokes-elves of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies in Week 11.
(Side Note: Burrow was lost for the season in 2023 with a wrist injury in Week 11 and tore his ACL during Week 11 of his rookie season. Maybe the Bengals should treat Week 11 as a personal bye for Burrow and let Jake Browning start instead. Just a thought!)
Zac Taylor is a former quarterback, which is another part of why the Bengals are predisposed to being a throw-first, run-second team under his watch. That’s true even when he offers the classic Head Coach Speak phrase “establish the run.”
That empty cliche notwithstanding, the Bengals are likely to use Brown and Zach Moss in the infamous running-back-by-committee approach. Cincinnati is likely to remain stuck in their ground game rut yet again in 2024. That means more passing, more double teams on Chase (the receiving one), and more potential injuries for Burrow.
Unless the rushing Chase can break out, that is, and this is not meant as a slight to Mr. Moss. But despite a 4.3-yard per carry average for Moss, there is a reason he is already on his third NFL team since coming into the league. He’s never been the featured back, nor is expected to be one in Cincinnati. So if there was ever a time for Brown to pull a John Cena and show the NFL “My Time is Now,” this is it.
And it would line up with the Bengals’ traditional strengths if Brown can carry the load and crack the 1K-yard mark. If there was one constant in the two decades before Burrow showed up, it was that no matter how bad the Bengals were, they consistently had 1,000-yard rushers.
The man (one could argue) who was largely responsible for that was Jim Anderson, the bespectacled, humble, and kind individual who was the Bengals’ running backs coach from 1984-2012. Anderson was notable for being the first African-American coach in team history and also always getting the most from his players. James Brooks? Check. Elbert “Ickey” Woods? Check. Harold Green? Check. Corey Dillon? Check. Rudi Johnson? Check. The late Cedric Benson and “The Law Firm” BenJarvus Green-Ellis? Check and check.
Now, current Houston Texan RB Joe Mixon posted 1,000-yard seasons during Taylor’s regime, so we’re not suggesting the coach doesn’t have it him to establish the ground game. However, given the physicality of the AFC North, Taylor could be well-served by channeling his inner Anderson by rushing more in 2024 — and protecting his quarterback in the process.
If Brown can help the Bengals field a true dual-threat offense, the tailback could become as beloved a Chase in Cincinnati as Ja’Marr. There’s enough room in fans’ hearts for both, especially with one Chase on the ground and the other making his mark via the air. And if the Bengals can’t find a way to unify both of their Chases into a coherent offense, Cincinnati may have to chase excuses as to why they fell behind in their playoff chase. That’s not the kind of chase fans are going to be into.
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