It's easy to envision why the Cincinnati Bengals' offense wouldn't have a clearly defined ceiling for any given season. The mere presence of an elite quarterback in Joe Burrow and a Triple Crown wide receiver in Ja'Marr Chase alone give the Bengals arguably the most dynamic passing game combo in the NFL.
Falling prey to the annual training camp optimism can lead to fans being immensely disappointed. However, given what Burrow, defensive coordinator Al Golden, and a lot of key leaders in Cincinnati are saying in the lead up to the 2025 season, I can't help but feel like the vibe is totally different for this particular iteration of the Bengals.
Chase only reinforced that notion with his recent overview of the team, wherein he implied this could be the most dangerous Cincinnati offense since he was drafted fifth overall in 2021.
Why Ja'Marr Chase believes "the sky's the limit" for 2025 Bengals offense
Confidence is contagious. Joe Burrow's declaration that the Bengals' Super Bowl window is his entire career is very much believable, especially with his ex-LSU teammate Chase on hand as his go-to receiver.
Fresh off a historic contract extension, and with the knowledge that his running mate Tee Higgins is also locked up for the foreseeable future, Chase described how the Bengals' passing game power trio has been able to build unprecedented rapport while ramping up toward a season in a CBS interview:
"I mean the sky's the limit. The sky's limit always every year. Defense getting better this year; offense is getting better this year. The first time where we’ve really had a full — I want to say — a full… me, Joe, Tee all that practice during camp. First time we’ve actually had a great chemistry together, and just feeling each other out. What to expect, when to expect it. I think it's going to be, overall, good. Just to see how the season plays out. We’ve got a good little schedule in front of us, too, so it'll be nice."
"The sky's the limit."
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) August 3, 2025
Ja'Marr Chase thinks the Bengals' offense has a very high ceiling in 2025. pic.twitter.com/TbmUpgsCqo
Burrow has had a rough go at training camps since Chase entered the league. When the latter was a rookie, Cincinnati's face of the franchise was rehabbing from a brutal knee injury. The next year, appendicitis hampered Burrow in camp, followed by a calf strain in 2023. Before last season, Burrow was recovering from another season-ending injury to his throwing wrist.
So many setbacks. I'm having trouble keeping the years and injuries straight!
Knock on friggin' wood, Burrow is in good health at long last in camp. Chase isn't holding out/in for a new contract like he was last year. And Tee Higgins was finally rewarded for his commitment to the team after two years of the Bengals slow-playing his eventual contract extension.
Although the Trey Hendrickson hold-in still looms large and tempers any optimism about the defense's improvement, the Burrow-Chase-Higgins triumvirate is firing on all cylinders. That alone should help Cincinnati fend off its infamous tendency for slow starts during the Burrow/Zac Taylor era.
You know what else absolutely slaps, as the kids say nowadays? For as putrid as the Bengals defense was in 2024, they were still quite literally a few plays away from being a 12-win team.
Cincinnati doubters should put that in their figurative pipes and smoke it if they think Chase, Burrow, and the rest of the Bengals' franchise cornerstones are going to allow this team to miss the playoffs for a third year in a row.