NFL
Bengals Get Disturbing Ja’Marr Chase Injury Update Ahead of Week 12
Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sports7 in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He's a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early '90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA. When he's not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.
Get to know Tim Crean betterUpdated27 Nov 2022
The latest Ja’Marr Chase injury update is that the star pass-catcher is officially out for Week 12. The Cincinnati Bengals play the Tennessee Titans in a crucial AFC matchup, as the 6-4 Bengals are just a game behind the 7-3 Titans as the 2022 playoffs creep closer. As the stretch run approaches, the Bengals need to be firing on all cylinders, and a big part of that is getting superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase back healthy. However, ahead of the Bengals-Titans game, the team got the news that their start will miss his fourth consecutive game.
Ja’Marr Chase injury update
Bengals fans haven’t seen their superstar pass-catcher Ja’Marr Chase streaking down the field since the team’s Week 7 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. In that game. Chase was sprinting down the sideline when he pulled up lame, grabbing his hip.
The 2021 Offensive Rookie of the Year hasn’t played for the team since, missing the last four weeks (three games and a bye).
Ahead of the Week 12 Bengals-Titans matchup, there was some optimism that Chase could play, as Cincinnati Enquirer Bengals Beat writer Charlie Goldsmith tweeted that Chase “went through what looked to be a completely normal pregame warmup.”
However, Chase is out for Week 12.
The decision to keep the WR out seemed to be made well before he stepped on the field for warmups. As head coach Zac Taylor arrived at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville today, he told CBS Sports reporter Evan Washburn, “We’ll hold [Chase] out today. We’re excited that he got a chance to get back to practice last week. Looked great. But we’ll give him one more week to make that decision.”
And with that, Bengals fans everywhere got the official Ja’Marr Chase injury update they didn’t want to hear.
However, despite the absence of their most talented offensive player, the Bengals offense has looked good in Chase’s absence.
The Bengals offense has clicked without their star pass-catcher
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When Ja’Marr Chase went out vs. the Falcons, the Bengals were already up 35-17 in the fourth quarter. In the next game, without Chase, the Cleveland Browns beat the doors off their Ohio rival on Halloween night’s Monday Night Football, 32-13.
Since then, though, quarterback Joe Burrow and the Bengals have found their offensive firepower without their most dangerous weapon.
In Week 9, the Bengals doubled up the Carolina Panthers, 42-21. And in Week 11, after the bye, Cincinnati put up 37 to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers by a touchdown. In that first game, running back Joe Mixon stepped up and rushed for 153 yards. In the second, WR Tee Higgins picked up the slack and caught nine balls for 147 yards.
These big offensive performances were huge for the Bengals to help keep their playoff hopes alive. However, they were against the Panthers and Steelers, two teams whose records are among the worst in the league.
Against the Titans in Week 12, the Bengals face a major step up in class, and after the latest Ja’Marr Chase injury update, they’ll do it without their biggest big play threat.
