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Before the arrival of Ja'Marr Chase, the Cincinnati Bengals have had it as bad as anyone over the last few years. Between Andy Dalton's regression and subsequent exit from the team coupled with the struggles to find a quarterback, the fans have had a rough few years.
However, with Burrow looking like a franchise quarterback and Ja'Marr Chase succeeding at doing his best "AJ Green" impression, the Bengals are in business.
Heading into the season, pundits knew the Burrow-Chase connection could be diabolical, but now the wide receiver is encroaching on record-breaking.
Will Ja'Marr Chase break the rookie receiving record for yards?
Will Ja'Marr Chase set a new rookie record for receiving yards?
The current record holder, according to Statmuse, has held the record since John F. Kennedy was in office. In 1960, Bill Groman earned 1,473 yards on 72 receptions in only 14 games.
He played for the Houston Oilers 61 years ago and his dominance as a rookie has endured through the decades.
Justin Jefferson, a teammate of Chase at LSU, almost broke the record last season, earning 1,400 yards on 88 receptions in 16 games. With 17 games in 2021, Chase looks to have the next best chance to unseat Groman.
Through 12 games, Chase has 55 catches for 958 yards and eight touchdowns. According to Pro Football Reference, Chase is earning 79 yards per game.
To break the record, Chase needs to earn a little over 550 yards in the next five games. Chase essentially needs to average 110 yards per game over the next five games to have a shot at beating the record.
If he can do enough to break 1,400 yards, he will unseat Jefferson.
However, the Bengals face a tough sleight of games to wrap up the year. They face the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, and Cleveland Browns.
Unfortunately, three of the games are against top 10 defenses and two of the games are against divisional opponents, which could lead to tougher games.
The Chiefs' defense is currently playing much better than their ranking over the last month as well. Put simply, the odds are stacked against Chase in terms of breaking the record.
He could still have good days against each of the remaining teams, but he would need to earn around 200 yards against one of the opponents to cushion against the other teams.
To be fair, Chase had a 200-yard day against the Baltimore Ravens earlier this season, but the Ravens won't allow lightning to strike twice. They will do whatever it takes to shut him down, even if it means Tyler Boyd is left essentially open all game long.
Either way, the game against the Ravens may decide the result.The Bengals play the Ravens on December 26.
