Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase respond to critics after big game

Criticism has come early and often for rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. The questions began early as fans and analysts wondered aloud why the Bengals took Chase over some of the offensive linemen on the board. Chase did not help things in the preseason, struggling to adjust to the new NFL ball throughout the preseason with multiple dropped passes.

Perhaps no one in Cincinnati is a bigger Ja’Marr Chase fan than Joe Burrow. The Bengals franchise quarterback is familiar with the wide receiver from their time together at LSU. Coming off an impressive Week One win, Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase teamed up to respond to their critics.

“Thought he was dropping everything?” Burrow quipped as he walked to the podium for his postgame press conference.

Chase caught five passes on seven targets for 101 yards and a touchdown to known off the Minnesota Vikings 27-24 in overtime. In addition, Burrow finished the game with 261 passing yards and two touchdowns.

The impressive showing silenced noise which built throughout the offseason about the Bengals offense.

“That’s just trash talk,” Chase told reporters. “Block out the noise. I knew I was going to do it, just a matter of time.”

New ball, new problems

According to Ja’Marr Chase, the NFL-style football is what caused his preseason problems. Although he wants to make it clear the new ball is not hard to catch.

“The ball is different because it is bigger,” Chase said via the team’s website. “It doesn’t have the white stripes on the side so you can’t see the ball coming from the tip point so you actually have to look for the strings on the ball at the top, which is hard to see because whole ball is brown and you have the six strings that are white. But for the most part, just have to get used to it and find out what I am comfortable with catching.”

In an effort to get used to the football he will be catching, the former LSU star has been staying after practice to get extra reps in. The Bengals have also got their money’s worth from their Jugs machine, as Chase is doing everything he can to correct the problem.

“Haha I never said it was hard to catch. They asked me what the difference was in the ball,” Chase later posted, quoting a story saying the NFL ball was harder to catch than the NCAA ball. “Don’t change my words!”

Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase quickly put all this talk to bed while silencing their critics.