Joe Burrow Continues to Pump Ja'Marr Chase Stats

The Cincinnati Bengals invited the Cleveland Browns into Paycor Stadium to exact some revenge for Week 8's near-blowout loss on Sunday and did just that, picking up their fifth straight win. Though much of the victory can be pinned on the back of their defense, Joe Burrow and the offense kept the sacks to a minimum and came away with an easy victory, despite being down three top pass-catchers.
Below is an overview of the offense and an outlook for the fantasy playoffs.

A Heisman Trophy Performance

Though he looked a little off during portions of the first half, Cincinnati's Joe Burrow passed for 239 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in Sunday’s win, even though Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd combined for a minuscule three snaps on the day. For Higgins, he is still undergoing tests on his hamstring at the time of this writing, while Boyd has already been confirmed to miss "a week or two" with his dislocated finger. Taking a look at the Joe Burrow stats, you would be forgiven if you thought this was just a normal day, as he still had a respectable 7.2 yards per attempt without Higgins, Boyd, and tight end Hayden Hurst.

The biggest beneficiary was former LSU Tiger teammate Ja'Marr Chase, who was peppered with targets by his now NFL quarterback, including a beautifully thrown 15-yard TD that opened up the scoring. Sunday was remarkably Chase's sixth double-digit target game and his second of 15+ targets, and he has missed four games of the 2022 season.

The Bengals have proven over the last month of play that they are legit Super Bowl contenders in the AFC playoff bracket, and their depth is proving to be one of the more important factors. With Boyd, Higgins, and Hurst all missing Week 14, the team turned to Chase through the air and Joe Mixon —who missed the past two games with a concussion— on the ground. Next on the docket is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were just throttled by the 49ers and are trending in the opposite direction.

Looking Towards the Fantasy Postseason

The schedule makers didn't go lightly on the Bengals down the homestretch in terms of fantasy matchups, with Week 16 —most leagues' semi-finals— looking particularly difficult in New England. As for the immediate future of Week 15, Bengals QB Joe Burrow could still be without two of his top pass catchers when they head down to Tampa Bay and take on a Bucs team that allowed Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, complete 16 of his 21 (76%) of his passes for two touchdowns and no interceptions. The 49ers installed a heavy rushing attack, which worked to perfection; Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason combined for 175 yards on 25 carries, a whopping 7.0 yards per tote.

The Bengals may very well employ a similar tactic, which would make Joe Mixon invaluable in the first week of the fantasy playoffs. There's no reason to assume that Ja'Marr Chase would not be targeted heavily again, and Tampa ranks in the bottom third of the league in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to opposing wide receivers, which opens the door for another monster game from him.

Mixon, Chase, and Burrow are all great choices as you start to decide your lineups for the first week of fantasy playoffs.