Week 6 on the NFL schedule is almost in the books (we still have Monday Night Football to go) and the best performances deserve to be recognized by our MMQB staff. Even if you’re feeling down because your team didn’t win, maybe one of your favorite players or coaches gets awarded a game ball by our staff. Let’s go!
Mitch Goldich: Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals’ follow-up to their Super Bowl run got off to an 0–2 start, which happens, but for the world to truly believe deep playoff runs are “the new normal” in Cincinnati, the team has to be able to bounce back and win the games it should throughout the season. That’s what it did in Weeks 3 and 4 before falling to the Ravens last week. So Sunday’s game against the Saints felt like one the team really needed, or else we would have been in for a typical media cycle of “What’s wrong with the Bengals?” Perhaps a trip to the Superdome was good for the psyche. Burrow walked into the building where he and Chase won the national title wearing his receiver’s LSU jersey. The stat sheet looks very clean (Burrow: 28-of-37, 300 yards, three TDs, no turnovers; Chase: seven catches, 132 yards, two TDs), but this game was no breeze. The Bengals trailed by two scores in the second half, and needed 10 points in the final four minutes to put things away. The stars connected on the play of the day—a 60-yard catch-and-run for the final score. Cincinnati now has a stretch of winnable games to reenter the top of the AFC playoff picture. Banking wins like this are necessary before late-season games with the Chiefs and Bills.
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