Ja’Marr Chase did nearly all of his damage in Madrid before the Atlanta Falcons ever figured out how to cover him. The Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver caught 10 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown in a 34-17 Week 9 win at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid’s stadium. The performance also lifted Chase into rare company.
According to Ari Meirov, he and Randy Moss are the only receivers to post at least seven touchdown catches in each of their first six NFL seasons. Chase had eight grabs for 142 yards by halftime. ESPN Insights noted that no Cincinnati player had produced that many yards before the break since 1988.
His touchdown came on the Bengals’ first possession, a 47-yard deep ball from quarterback Joe Burrow, his former LSU teammate, on third-and-2 from midfield. Chase also piled up 55 yards after the catch and shed two tacklers before intermission. Burrow was nearly perfect, going 24 of 29 for 271 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
He added a 1-yard sneak for a rushing score. Wide receiver Tee Higgins caught only five balls for 32 yards. Two of them were touchdowns, including one in the end zone’s right corner.
Kicker Evan McPherson connected from 57 yards late in the second quarter, and Cincinnati took a 24-10 lead into the break. Atlanta’s offense looked sharp early. Michael Penix Jr. found tight end Charlie Woerner on a play-action touchdown pass to cap the opening drive, but the attack went quiet after that.
Penix finished with just 162 passing yards, and his late interception sealed it. The win moves Cincinnati to 6-2 and keeps it in step with the AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Atlanta fell to 3-6, a record that stings less in a soft NFC South.
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