You would think that if Ja'Marr Chase ever put up only two catches for 12 yards in Week 1, in just about any other scenario, the Cincinnati Bengals were blown off the field. That's especially so given their history of early-season struggles.
And yet, that's not what happened at all on Sunday. Joe Burrow gifted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a pick-six, couldn't find Chase often, and Cincinnati still prevailed 33-27 thanks to a stellar defensive effort that yielded only 20 points when you take out the Bucs' defensive TD.
Chase's quiet afternoon (and probable worst game of the 2026 campaign) was actually the biggest silver lining of all the positive subplots that emerged from Week 1.
Yes, the defense was awesome, but to be honest, I expected it to be. It was more like, "They better be good" after all the resources spent to upgrade that side of the ball. What I couldn't have imagined was for Chase to be held in check so well...and for Cincinnati to still emerge victorious.
Ja'Marr's lackluster season opener opened up room for Mike Gesicki (and others) to shine
Tight end Mike Gesicki's stat line of five catches, 78 yards, and a TD was all made psosible by the attention Ja'Marr Chase attracted. OK sure, Tee Higgins deserves some credit on that front, but Tampa Bay played the dynamic Chase-Higgins duo quite well.
Higgins (three catches, 59 yards) did get singled up on certain plays, and he and Burrow capitalized for some explosive gains through the air.
Still, Burrow often had to resort to checkdowns. Chase Brown and Samaje Perine combined for eight receptions out of the backfield. Even my nemesis, "blocking specialist" tight end Drew Sample, had three catches for 19 yards.
Nine different Bengals had at least one catch in Week 1. That's a testament to Burrow's high football IQ and getting it to the open man. Many of the opportunities for others were created by the gravity Chase draws in coverage from the opposition.
Chase's performance is quite the outlier, dare I say. And it'll be rectified very soon.
Ja'Marr Chase's 3.2 fantasy points today are his second-fewest in a game in his career and fewest since Week 15 of his rookie season (1.3).
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 14, 2026
Counterintuitively, Chase has a great chance to rally vs. Texans' vaunted defense in Week 2
You'd think that facing such a venerated defense as the Houston Texans on the road would be bad news for Ja'Marr Chase and his fantasy football owners. Not so much.
The Texans like to run what they run and dare you to out-execute them. That didn't work so well against Josh Allen and the Bills in their season opener, yet they can get away with that against pretty much anyone else, Cincinnati included.
...At least to some extent. See, Houston has Chase's ex-LSU teammate, Derek Stingley Jr., who they trust enough to mark up Ja'Marr one-on-one. That falsity of confidence is just what Chase needs to get loose in Week 2.
I refuse to overreact to how bad Houston looked versus Buffalo and say the defense is for sure on the decline. Nevertheless, there can't help but be some carry-over from that shock.
Plus, as good as Allen is, Burrow ain't some slouch. And thanks to a rather smooth transition to mroe under-center plays from the Bengals offense, Chase Brown should be able to find more running lanes against the Texans, who don't have some run-stopping dynamo in the middle of their defensive line like the Bucs have in Vita Vea.
What will that lead to? Less predictability and obvious dropback situations from Cincinnati. More effective play-action passing. More chances for Chase to rip off massive gains and earn a higher target share volume on schemed-up, designed plays to get him back on track.
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