Ja'Marr Chase could be set for injured reserve following a hip injury, potentially slowing the Cincinnati Bengals' momentum as they recover from a tough start in 2022.
Second-year wide receiver Chase sustained the injury against the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, although he still caught two touchdown passes in that game and two more against the Atlanta Falcons last week, tallying 262 receiving yards across the two games combined.
Despite initially playing through the issue, Chase appeared on the Bengals' injury report on Thursday.
Coach Zac Taylor suggested the injury would be assessed daily, but ESPN subsequently reported Chase was facing four to six weeks on the sideline after seeing a specialist.
That would represent a huge blow to the Bengals, who started 0-2 after losing Super Bowl LVI but have recovered to 4-3.
As last year, when his 1,455 receiving yards set a rookie record for the Super Bowl era, Chase leads the Cincinnati receiving corps, tallying 605 yards and six touchdowns from 47 catches.
However, the Bengals are the only team in the NFL to have three players with at least 400 receiving yards, with Chase joined by Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins (both 455).
Boyd led the way with 155 yards in last week's 35-17 defeat of the Falcons, in which quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 481 yards – the third-most in a regular-season Bengals game all-time – and three TDs, rushing for a further 20 yards and a score.
Burrow endured a dismal start to the year, with four interceptions and seven sacks against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1, but now looks back to his best.
The QB's 11.45 yards per attempt against the Falcons represented a career high, while his completion percentage of 81.0 (34 of 42) was his second-best mark.
Burrow now faces the Cleveland Browns, a team he has never beaten in three attempts.
In fact, the Bengals have lost four straight to their AFC North rivals, their worst run in this matchup since dropping seven in a row between 1992 and 1995.
Bidding to end that run without Chase on Monday, Burrow and the Bengals are second in the division, two games ahead of the third-placed 2-5 Browns.ja