Ja’Marr Chase’s Week 1 line looked like the kind of box score that usually comes with a Bengals loss: two catches, 12 yards, and a whole lot of frustration. But Cincinnati didn’t collapse around it. Instead, the Bengals beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33-27, even after Joe Burrow handed Tampa Bay a pick-six and Chase spent most of the afternoon bottled up.
That’s what made the quiet day from Chase so striking. Cincinnati has a habit of starting slowly, and this time the offense didn’t need its top receiver to carry the load to survive.
The defense did its job, and once you strip out the Bucs’ defensive touchdown, Tampa Bay was held to 20 points. Still, the biggest positive from the opener might have been the fact that Chase was held down and the Bengals still walked away with a win.
There was plenty of production elsewhere. Mike Gesicki turned five catches into 78 yards and a touchdown, and the attention Chase drew helped create those openings.
Tee Higgins deserves some of that credit too, since Tampa Bay handled the Chase-Higgins pairing well, but Higgins still found room on a few snaps and finished with three catches for 59 yards. Burrow had to work through a lot of underneath stuff, and the Bengals leaned on their backs and tight ends more than usual.
Chase Brown and Samaje Perine combined for eight receptions out of the backfield. Even Drew Sample, who has long been viewed as a blocking specialist, caught three passes for 19 yards.
In all, nine different Bengals recorded at least one catch. That spread of targets said plenty about Burrow’s feel for the game and about how much defensive attention Chase commands, even when the stat line doesn’t show it.
Chase’s outing was an obvious outlier, and the kind that usually doesn’t linger long.
Ja'Marr Chase's 3.2 fantasy points today are his second-fewest in a game in his career and fewest since Week 15 of his rookie season (1.3).
- Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 14, 2026
Now comes a Week 2 matchup with the Houston Texans, and on paper it doesn’t look like a soft landing. But there’s a reason Chase can still pop against that defense.
Houston wants to play its system and force opponents to execute cleanly. That approach didn’t hold up against Josh Allen and the Bills in the opener, though it can still work against plenty of other teams.
The Texans also have Derek Stingley Jr., Chase’s former LSU teammate, and they trust him enough to leave Chase in single coverage at times. That kind of one-on-one setup is exactly the sort of thing Chase can punish.
Houston’s performance against Buffalo was rough enough to notice, but it’s too early to treat that as a full-on collapse. Even so, there’s no denying it was a jolt.
And while Allen is Allen, Burrow is hardly a downgrade. Cincinnati’s offense also appears to be settling more comfortably into under-center looks, which could help Chase Brown find better running lanes against a Texans front that doesn’t have a run-stopping force like Vita Vea in the middle.
That matters because it can keep the Bengals out of obvious passing situations. More balance means more play-action, more room for Burrow to operate, and more chances for Chase to get loose on designed looks and bigger downfield opportunities. After a quiet opener, that’s the path back to the kind of game everyone expects from him.
In Other News...
Bengals Already Have An AFC North Problem After Week 1
Week 1 did the Bengals no favors in the AFC North race. Baltimore and Pittsburgh both opened with wins, while Cleveland stumbled badly, leaving Cincinnati to take a hard look at a division that already looks like it could be unforgiving from the start. The Ravens got the kind of offensive performance that can set a tone early, and the Steelers leaned on T.J. Watts disruptive afternoon to make their own statement.
For the Bengals, the early standings are only part of the concern. The divisions top end already looks sharp, and even the Browns issues only underline how difficult every week in the North is going to be. Cincinnati does not have much room to waste time sorting itself out, because the teams around it have already begun piling up reasons to make the path to the division feel steep. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Suddenly Have A Valuable Trade Chip As QB Chaos Spreads
Joe Flacco has become one of the more interesting names sitting around the Bengals quarterback room, not because Cincinnati needs him to start, but because he has shown he can step in and handle the job on short notice. With multiple quarterbacks on the roster and practice squad, the Bengals are in a position that has suddenly drawn more attention than usual as the rest of the league scrambles to stabilize behind center.
Around the NFL, several teams are dealing with injuries and uneven play at quarterback, and that has created a market for veteran depth in a hurry. Flaccos experience makes him an obvious fit for clubs looking for a ready-made option, whether through a trade or another roster move, though no deal has been confirmed and Cincinnati still appears to be holding its cards for now. [Read more 🡒]
Amarius Mims Is Forcing A Bengals Decision They Usually Avoid
Amarius Mims looked every bit like a player who has changed the conversation around the Bengals right tackle spot in his preseason debut against Tampa Bay. He handled his pass protection cleanly and did not allow a pressure, a promising sign for a player whose game has been trending in the right direction since late 2025.
For Cincinnati, the bigger issue is what this kind of development eventually forces them to consider. Mims is not even in extension territory until 2027, but the market for tackles with his profile already points to a hefty price range, and that number could keep climbing if franchise-tag costs rise the way they are projected to. The Bengals usually prefer to avoid getting boxed into a costly decision early, yet Mims keeps making it harder to ignore what comes next. [Read more 🡒]