Ja'Marr Chase Eager to Catch Passes From Joe Burrow After Week Away From Bengals

CINCINNATI — It was a trying week for Ja'Marr Chase recently, but he's back in full force from his suspension and into the lineup again at the same time as his buddy, Joe Burrow.

Chase hasn't caught a game pass from him since the win over Jacksonville in Week 2. He's ready for that to change on Thursday night.

"It's good to have him back. You know what I'm saying?" Chase said about Burrow. "I'm happy I got my friend back out there. Glad he back. I know he's excited for it. We're not going to get a better game for him to come back."

Cincinnati's best playmaker didn't get to practice with Burrow last week, but he stayed sharp at the University of Cincinnati's Sheakley Indoor Practice Facility to stay on top of his conditioning.

He doesn't expect any drop off in his play after getting solid private work in at the best football facility in the tri-state area. Chase expanded on his remorse for the suspension-worthy act.

"Just getting it out, giving a moment to apologize to everybody, just letting myself get out of control, out of character, basically messing over my name organization, NFL, and everybody else associated with me," Chase said about why he posted a formal apology.

"I don't really have nothing to prove of who I am. I mean, either you like me or you don't. I could care less," he expanded further. "I'm still gonna go forward at the end of the day. I got kids, I got people to take care of, so I could really care less."

Cincinnati is a clear betting underdog again this week against its hated rival in Baltimore. It's been a rough go against this team lately, with the Ravens winning the past four matchups. Chase and his team have to change that, or the season is officially, officially over, with them currently holding a 1% chance on ESPN's Football Power Index to make the playoffs.

"The biggest thing is just pushing for the AFC Championship," Chase said about the team's postseason outlook. "That's the biggest thing, trying to win the division as best as we can. We know we played one team already, so we got to get after it today. It's not that many other games we have that's in a way for the division, so the ones that we do have got to capitalize on it."

They won't have their other two top stars in Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson, making it even more difficult on a highly respected target like Chase.

Still, he's excited for the defensive challenge.

"It's really not that much I know about Baltimore right now," Chase said about this week's matchup. Just overall, looking at them, I got to get back and watch them a little bit more, because I haven't watched them or any games like that on TV, or nothing like that. But no. Overall, they always have a great defense, great up front putting pressure, making it hard for receivers, so we got to do a good job of just creating separation."

The game kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET Thursday night.

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