An early story of the AFC divisional round game between the Tennessee Titans and the Cincinnati Bengals is Tennessee’s ability to generate pressure on quarterback Joe Burrow. The Titans sacked Burrow on each of the Bengals’ first two possessions of the game, and as Cincinnati started their third, it sure looked like another sack was in the cards.
Instead, rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was off to the races:
Just give it to Ja'Marr and let him do the rest. #RuleTheJungle #NFLPlayoffs
📺: #CINvsTEN on CBS
📱: https://t.co/3uvV4E3BTI pic.twitter.com/83Z1HIMK9b— NFL (@NFL) January 22, 2022
As they do more than almost any other team, the Bengals align with Burrow alone in the backfield. The Titans show pressure up front, with seven defenders on the line of scrimmage. Rather than try and protect Burrow against all seven potential threats, Zac Taylor has his quarterback target Chase on the quick screen, hoping he can make a defender miss.
Chase does just that, skipping past cornerback Kristian Fulton, his former LSU teammate, for a huge gain into Titans’ territory.
Unfortunately for the Bengals, the Titans were not done sacking Burrow. They got to the Cincinnati quarterback two plays later, forcing the Bengals to settle for a field goal and a six-point lead.
