Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase sends a clear message to his haters

Ja’Marr Chase answered his preseason critics in Week 1, and he sent a public message to those detractors on Wednesday morning.

Ja’Marr Chase struggled with drops this preseason, and he fueled the story by pointing to differences in the NFL football. The criticism was too easy, at least until he played his first regular season game.

All the Bengals rookie wide receiver did in Week 1 against the Vikings was catch five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. He made veteran Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson look lost on a play where he was not thrown the ball.

https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1437925350755819520?s=20

Chase is the first Bengals’ rookie with 100 or more receiving yards in Week 1. He is the fourth rookie with at least five catches,100-plus yards and a touchdown in his debut over the last 10 seasons, joining Will Fuller, Terry McLaurin and T.J. Hockenson.

Ja’Marr Chase has a message for his critics

Chase appeard on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” Wednesday morning. When asked what he had to say to his early naysayers, he had a message.

“I like to tell them, ‘Enjoy the show.’ That’s all I can tell them,” he said. “A lot of news coming. I’ve been hearing this since I was young, you know what I’m saying? But I’m not worried about it. This is my job right here, and my job is to catch the football and make plays. So I’ma let them sit back and enjoy the show.”

According to Kevin Patra of NFL.com, no player since at least 1950 has had 100-plus receiving yards and a least one touchdown in each of his first two career games. Only two, Fuller in 2016 and DeSean Jackson in 2008, have had 100 or more receiving yards in each of their first two games. Based on his additional comments on “GMFB”, Chase is aware of his chances to reach those milestones.

The Bengals face the Chicago Bears and a suddenly vulnerable-looking secondary in Week 2. So Chase could be in for another nice outing, and he could wind up in rare air for a rookie wide receiver.