OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh smiled when asked about the key to slowing down Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
“You’ve heard about him?” Harbaugh joked. “I’ve heard about him. He is not bad.”
When the Ravens play at the Bengals on Sunday (1 p.m. EST, CBS), the priority for the Baltimore defense is to contain Chase as much as possible, which has been one of the most daunting challenges in Harbaugh’s 18 seasons in Baltimore.
Chase has used his downfield speed and elusiveness after the catch to produce three of the seven biggest receiving games against the Ravens since 2008, which was Harbaugh’s first season as coach. He has averaged 119.1 yards receiving in nine meetings vs. Baltimore, which is the highest by any player with at least five games against the Ravens.
“They move him around so much, and that’s part of the reason why they have success; you never know where he’s going to be at,” Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said. “You try to scheme your offense and scheme your defense, or whatever it may be, so your best players can shine, and that’s what they do very well. Not [just] him, just all the weapons they have on offense. I think a big part of stopping him is just knowing where he is and what they like to do in certain areas where he’s at.”
Four players have totaled over 1,000 yards receiving against the Ravens since 2000: Chad Johnson, Hines Ward, Antonio Brown and Chase. But Chase is the only one who has done so in under 10 games.
Chase’s 1,072 yards receiving against Baltimore are 385 more yards than he’s recorded against any other team. He has a current streak of three straight 100-yard games against the Ravens.
“I feel like I play the best against everybody,” Chase said. “Some games happen to be better than other games.”
Last season, Chase totaled 457 yards in two games against Baltimore. That marked the most by any player against one opponent in a single season in NFL history.
In the Bengals’ 32-14 win in Baltimore on Thanksgiving night, the Ravens felt like they took a positive step forward when they held Chase to seven receptions on 14 targets for 110 yards.
“I thought the guys did a good job, all in all,” Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr said. “The thing that was really good was we didn’t let him run after the catch. That’s where he’s really hurt us [before], and that’s where they really get rolling is when he catches a slant or a dig route and runs for big, explosive plays. I thought we did OK. You never want a guy to get a 100 yards, but we can be better, and we know what we can be better at.”
Chase has been extremely dangerous with the ball in his hands. His 494 yards after the catch are the most by a player against the Ravens over the last 25 years.
“He’s a good player, and they’re a good offense, but I think effort a lot of the time makes up for mistakes just scheme-wise,” Hamilton said. “So, I think we definitely have that down pat – just run to the ball, playing hard, it covers a lot of things up.”
The Ravens’ focus is not missing tackles on Chase on the short routes and not letting him get behind the defense on the go-routes.
In the last five years, Chase has caught four passes for 50 or more yards against the Ravens. No one has more than two against Baltimore over that span.
“We understand that they’re going to take their shots,” Orr said. “And then, on a couple of the catches that he had, we had coverage rolled his way. So, that’s part of the execution [where] we have to be better when we’re saying that. When we commit that we’re going to take care of him, we can’t let him catch the football.”
