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Ja'Marr Chase wants to emulate one of his forebears.
Chad Johnson is the most prolific pass-catcher in Cincinnati Bengals history, holding multiple franchise records, including receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He was also famous for his various elaborate touchdown celebrations, including once commandeering a sideline camera:
And speaking to reporters inside the locker room on Thursday, 2021's Offensive Rookie of the Year said he wanted to emulate the said celebration, even making a proposition to one of the team's two most recent Ring of Honor inductees.
"Chad, if I score a touchdown and grab the camera like you did, I need you to pay the fine for me," he said. "That's the only catch, man. Only thing."
Johnson would respond positively later:
Ja'Marr Chase discusses Buffalo Bills' hot take on Divisional Round loss
Elsewhere, Ja'Marr Chase was also briefed about the Cincinnati Bengals' Week 9 game against the Buffalo Bills. It is a rematch of their Divisional Round meeting last season, which the former won 27-10 in Orchard Park.
Around four months later, in May, wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie, who had been released by the Bills as the new season commenced, boldly claimed on Tyler Dunne's Go Long podcast that they would have won under different playing conditions.
"If we were in a dome it would have been a totally different game," McKenzie said. "I'll tell you this: That snow had a lot to do with it. Let's be real, our run game wasn't the best run game... We didn't have a run game, so the snow was a big deal because we pass the ball."
Apparently, Chase had learned of this and other grumblings, and he addressed them in the locker room on Thursday.
“Yeah, I remember that,” Chase said. “It’s something crazy to say. That don’t fire me up. That’s a day-old opinion. We still won at the end of the day.”
His teammate Tyler Boyd also had the same thoughts:
“We won in the snow. A couple of their players were saying that if it wasn’t snowing that they would’ve beat us so we here now. We gonna see what the outcome is.”
The Bills-Bengals matchup will air Sunday on NBC, beginning at 8:20 pm.
