The goal may come as a surprise to many with how well he's played this season. However, the stats explain perfectly why he feels like he needs more.
With just two weeks remaining in the 2025 NFL season, the 5-10 Cincinnati Bengals have just pride and confidence as their incentives to play for. They were eliminated from playoff contention after their 24-0 shutout loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15, marking their third year in a row watching the playoffs at home.
The Bengals have decided to continue playing their key starters, rather than benching them to preserve their health for next season. Superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase commented on playing out the rest of the season, detailing their duty to do their job and play for their teammates.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase
© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Ahead of their matchup with the Arizona Cardinals, Chase was asked by reporters if he had any goals going into the final two games of the season.
“If I’m being honest, I think my biggest thing on this list is to score a touchdown,” said Chase. “I think I’ve been overdue since like Week 7.”
Given that he was just selected to his fifth straight Pro Bowl to start his career, many may wonder why he would be so worried about getting a touchdown in games that don’t matter. While he is top four in the league in both receptions and receiving yards this season, Chase is actually on pace for a career low in touchdowns. His stats through 14 games played are 110 receptions for 1,256 yards and only five touchdowns.
The lowest amount of touchdowns the former No. 5 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has had in a season is seven in 2023. Even in 2021, Chase was able to obtain nine receiving touchdowns in a season where he only played 12 games. Being that the former LSU Tiger won the Triple Crown last year, his touchdown production has taken a dramatic dip from his 17 touchdowns last season.
The lack of touchdowns for the Bengals' offense isn’t the problem, though. Fellow star wide receiver Tee Higgins is tied for his career-high in touchdowns with 10 through 13 games, and Cincinnati is tied for third in the NFL in total touchdowns with 31. Chase’s lack of touchdowns obviously may have been impacted by his superstar quarterback, Joe Burrow, missing nine games due to turf toe earlier in the year. Although Chase has played phenomenally as he’s used to, getting a touchdown or two to end the year could be a significant confidence boost moving into next season.