The Bengals’ high-flying offense could take a back seat over the next few weeks and that’s because Ja’Marr Chase is expected to miss some time with a hip injury.
While it’s unclear how long Chase will be out, the All-Pro wide receiver is expected to miss Monday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, according to NFL.com. If Chase only misses a game or two, that would arguably be the best-case scenario for the Bengals, as there’s at least one report that he could be out for more than a month.
According on ESPN.com, the injury could sideline the Bengals star four to six weeks, and if that’s the longest end of that window, Chase would be out until December. Chase was suspended from practice on Thursday and at the time Bengals coach Zac Taylor said it was because the hip was “painful”, but clearly it’s more than that.
With Chase possibly considering a six-week absence, the Bengals could place him on the injured reserve. However, if they go that route, Chase will have to sit out at least four games, so they’ll only put him on IR if they feel like there’s no way he can come back. in a month. The Bengals have a bye in Week 10, so if Chase was out in Week 8 (Browns) and Week 9 (Panthers), that would give him four weeks to heal and he would only miss two games in the during this period.
It’s a devastating injury for a Bengals offense that was beginning to find its footing in recent weeks after a slow start to the season. The Bengals have won four of their last five games and a big reason for that is because of Chase, who has completely disappeared in his last two games with at least 130 receiving yards and two touchdowns in each game, which were the two wins for the Bengals.
The 2021 Offensive Rookie of the Year initially suffered a hip injury in Week 6 against the Saints. During that 30-26 win, Chase caught seven passes for 132 yards, including a game-winning 60-yard touchdown with less than two minutes left. In the days following that game, Chase went on injury report for the first time this season and he even sat out the team’s Wednesday practice ahead of their Week 7 game. against the Falcons.
Against Atlanta, Chase caught eight passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. However, he did most of his damage in the first half, which is notable as he appeared to re-injure his hip with just 20 seconds left until half-time.
Although Chase returned to action in the second half, he wasn’t very active.
Chase’s absence means Taylor will have to completely revamp the Bengals’ offense. The Bengals have what it takes to succeed without Chase, but there’s no guarantee that will happen. One thing the Bengals will have to rely on in Chase’s absence is Joe Mixon and the ground game, but that could be a problem as the ground game has been non-existent this year (the Bengals only average 87.4 yards per game rushing, which is fifth-worst in the NFL).
If you look at the Bengals passing game, Joe Burrow has thrown 27% of his passes (74 targets on 270 attempts) at Chase this year and those will have to go elsewhere. The good news for the Bengals is that Burrow has good chemistry with the rest of his receivers. Although Chase leads the team with 605 receiving yards, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are right behind him with 455 yards each. Those will be the two guys who will have to take over as Burrow will definitely find their way with Chase out.
Additionally, Mixon (182) and Hayden Hurst (226) both have over 180 receiving yards this season.
It’s going to be an uphill battle for the Bengals offense, but they have several winnable games in the coming weeks (at Browns, Panthers, BYE, at Steelers, at Titans) and with the way their defense has played, the AFC on defense the champions might be able to weather the storm of Chase’s absence.
The Bengals were just over 50% to make the playoffs with Chase in the roster, but if he missed six weeks, their playoff chances would drop to less than 44%, according to CBS Sports data scientist Stephen Oh. .
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