One of the bigger concerns for the Cincinnati Bengals exiting Week 1, before the Joe Burrow injury scare drama, was the offense’s usage of Ja’Marr Chase.
During the 33-27 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Burrow’s offense only targeted Chase four times. He caught two for 12 yards. That landed Chase behind three other names in targets and tied for seventh on the team in receiving yardage with Andrei Iosivas.
Plenty of ideas about this made the rounds. Suggestions that the Bucs centered their gameplan on taking Chase away were popular. Less popular, but sort of valid, were suggestions that Chase’s limited work after an injury scare late in camp played a part.
Ask the Bengals, though? They just need to do a better job.
“We didn’t throw him the ball enough,” offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher told Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “Pretty simple. We got to throw him the ball more. He’s the best receiver in the world.”
Fair enough. It feels like Bengals coaches are good for one of these quotes each season now. But fair enough. Sometimes the ball just needs to go where it can against what the defense is doing. It’s no accident wideouts had a tough time against the Bucs while tight end Mike Gesicki led all targets in receiving and scored.
Still, coaches will fall on the proverbial sword like this when needed. Keep in mind that one year ago, Chase started the season with two catches on five targets, then caught 14 of 16 for 165 yards and a score in Week 2. A repeat this weekend wouldn’t exactly be a stunner.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals coaches critical of Ja’Marr Chase usage vs. Bucs
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