Cincinnati Bengals Wide Receiver Ja’Marr Chase Dominates the Pittsburgh Steelers
In a league where quarterback-receiver duos are often compared to iconic pairings like peanut butter and jelly, Ja’Marr Chase is out here proving he’s the whole dang sandwich. It doesn’t matter who’s slinging the rock in Cincinnati; as long as they can get the ball somewhere in his zip code, Chase is going to make something magical happen.
On Thursday night against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, Chase didn’t just play football; he put on a masterclass. It was less of a game and more of a personal highlight reel, a performance so dominant it felt like he was playing on rookie mode. The final stat line reads like a fantasy football player’s fever dream: a jaw-dropping 16 catches on 23 targets for 161 yards and a touchdown. That wasn’t just a good game; it was a history-making, record-shattering spectacle.
Ja’Marr Chase’s Historic Night
Ja'Marr Chase set a Bengals record in his second game with Joe Flacco 😮 pic.twitter.com/6dSmpOegfC
— ESPN (@espn) October 17, 2025
Let’s put this into perspective. The 23 targets Chase saw are the kind of numbers you only see when your little brother is spamming his favorite player in Madden. It’s the third-most targets for any player in a single game since the NFL started tracking the stat back in 1978. His 16 receptions didn’t just set a new personal best; they established a new franchise record for the Bengals. It was a feast, and the Steelers’ secondary was the main course.
It didn’t matter who lined up across from him. Jalen Ramsey? Torched. Darius Slay? Cooked. Joey Porter Jr.? Welcome to the NFL. Chase treated one of the league’s most respected defensive backfields like a turnstile, getting open with a casual ease that was almost disrespectful. It was a “hold my beer” kind of night from start to finish.
A Connection Beyond Quarterbacks
What makes this performance even more ridiculous is who was throwing him the ball. With Joe Burrow sidelined, the 40-year-old Joe Flacco stepped in. Flacco, a man who was probably enjoying a quiet life before getting the call, has found a new favorite toy. The old, “Ja’Marr’s down there somewhere” philosophy that Burrow perfected now has a vintage edition, and it’s working just as well.
In his two games with Flacco, Chase has stacked up over 10 catches in each contest. That’s a first for him. The 26 catches over these last two weeks? The most prolific two-game span of his already stellar career. He’s become the NFL’s ultimate security blanket, a human cheat code that works with any operating system.
It is a testament to Chase’s raw talent. He’s not just a product of a system or a specific quarterback. He’s the system. In a must-win game that kept the Bengals’ flickering playoff hopes alive, Chase didn’t just rise to the occasion; he became the occasion. The Steelers knew the ball was going to number 1. They couldn’t do a single thing to stop it. And that, right there, is the mark of a true superstar.
