T.J. Houshmandzadeh figures he'll have the Bengals' single-season record for catches for another week, but that's about it.
Which means he thinks Ja'Marr Chase is going to get his 113th catch of the season in the Dec. 28 game against the Broncos, nearly 17 years to the day Houshmandzadeh caught his last ball of the 2007 season on the next-to-last day of the year to finish as the NFL's co-leader.
"Ha-ha. Sounds like a number," said Chase when asked after Thursday's practice what the number 112 means to him. "It rings a bell. There's a bell going off in my head."
But he could no longer play coy when asked if he knew who holds that number.
"I don't know," he said, a smile slipping out like Chase slips out of the slot. "T.J.? Lucky guess."
Lucky for his fans they get to see Chase play the next two games at Paycor Stadium with the Browns coming in Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) before Denver arrives six days later. By the end of the homestand, Chase figures to be the Bengals' single-season leader for catches, touchdown catches, and yards.
He's 43 yards from breaking his own yards record set in 2021, 13 catches from breaking Houshmandzadeh's record, and three touchdown catches from breaking Carl Pickens' 29-year-old record.
"Ja'Marr is going to go down as probably the greatest Bengals receiver, so he'll have every record. It's just a matter of time," Houshmandzadeh said this week. "Good for Good for him. It stood long enough.
"Cleveland makes it tough. They cover well and there's that pass rush. I'll keep it this week, But not much longer."
Chase comes into the game with a 170-yard lead on his good friend Justin Jefferson.
"Yards,' said Chase when asked which three Triple Crown categories mean the most to him. "Yards are really had to get. I'm not saying touchdowns are easier, but it's really hard to get to 1,500-plus, 1,600-plus, and 1,400 is still a lot."
Proving his very point is that if he catches his career average Sunday (round off that 86.9 to 87), he'll become the first Bengal to hit 1,500 yards. His 86.9 yards per, by the way, stands seconds on the NFL's all-time list behind only his ubiquitous buddy Jefferson's 96.5.
The first Bengal to hit 1,500. Not Ring of Honor members Isaac Curtis and Chad Johnson. Not seven-time Pro Bowler A.J. Green. Not Pickens, the first Bengal to catch 100 balls in a season. Not Houshmandzadeh, the second.
"It's proving to myself I can do anything if I put my mind to it," said Chase, who has put 1,500 on his list of goals stuck to his mirror. "When I was in college, I wasn't thinking this far what I could do. I was just worried about getting to the league. Hearing my name within the baddest group of receivers in the world, it's nice to be noticed."
NO CHAOS
Chase's run to 113 won't be nearly as chaotic as Houshmandzadeh's dash to 112.
Two weeks before the '07 finale, Houshmandzadeh broke Pickens' club record with his 101st catch. The night before the Bengals' finale in Miami, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady targeted wide receiver Wes Welker 12 times and Welker caught 11 passes in the Patriots' 38-35 win over the Giants that gave them a 16-0 season. It also gave Welker 112 catches and a nine-catch lead on Houshmandzadeh for the NFL title.
"I knew what I needed the next day, but they kept going to Chad," said Houshmandzadeh, who like Chase, also likes to have fun with reporters. "If they threw me the ball I could have had more. Throw me the ball and we'll win."
It might have just seemed that way because although Johnson only had four catches in the 38-25 win over the Dolphins, he had 120 yards and two touchdowns. Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer targeted Houshmandzadeh 11 times for nine catches and 90- yards trying to nudge him past Welker.
"I forget whether it was Marvin or Brat who came up to me during the game and asked me how many I needed,' Houshmandzadeh said of head coach Marvin Lewis and offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski. "Carson said, 'Dude, I'm going to throw it you.' Some of the plays were runs. He'd say, if they're off you, just turn around.'"
Palmer started drawing in the dirt when the Bengals got the ball back with 8:32 left in the season and Houshmandzadeh five short of a tie with Welker. That's how many he got him before they faced a third-and-one from the Dolphins 12 with 2:27 left.
Houshmandzadeh came in motion toward Palmer and at the snap pivoted back the other way for the title as he leaked into the flat.
"I dropped it. Swing pass. I got a hand on it, but dropped it. I doubled back too far," said Houshmandzadeh, and that's how he ended up tying Welker for the league lead.
The broadcasters moaned and predicted, "That will haunt him." But Houshmandzadeh says, "That's fine." There are bigger fish to fry. His daughter graduated from Chase's LSU Thursday.
"I'm looking at LSU Tiger Stadium right now taking a picture," Houshmandzadeh said. "How ironic is that? The week he may get my record."
Houshmandzadeh predicts Chase is not only going to get the Bengals receiving Triple Crown this season, but also the NFL's version.
"One of these games, somebody is going to shut him down," said Houshmandzadeh, an NFL analyst for FOX. "They'll just say, 'You're not beating me. I don't care if Tee Higgins gets 200 yards, or you run for 200 yards. Ja'Marr Chase is not beating me.'
"And he'll still get the Triple Crown. You could see Denver trying to do that. The Broncos are going to lose to Kansas City (in the last game of the season), so that Denver game (in Cincinnati) could be a playoff game for all intents and purposes."
Houshmandzadeh says what separates Chase from everybody else is his strength.
"Ja'Marr is really strong. He's not easily knocked off his spot in press," Houshmandzadeh said. "He has such good core strength. You put that with his athleticism and he's big and fast. But that strength. And that chemistry with Joe (Burrow). If you've been playing with someone since college and he just happens to be the best receiver in the league, you wouldn't want it any other way."
TRACKING TANDEM
You can throw this in, too, from Elias.
Three more touchdown passes from Burrow to Chase not only breaks the club record of 17 set by Pickens, but it also gives Burrow and Chase more combo TDs than Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson. They teamed up for 44 touchdowns in the seven seasons from 2004-10. Burrow-Chase sit at 42 in less than four seasons.
The 47 racked up by Pickens and Jeff Blake in 5.5 seasons is third on the Bengals all-time list, behind the 51 of Curtis and Ken Anderson and the club record of 58 set by A.J. Green and Andy Dalton.
SLANTS AND SCREENS
The Browns have been Chase's toughest cover in the AFC North. In eight games, he's wrecked the Ravens for eight touchdowns and 120 yards per game. In five games against the Steelers, he's pretty much hit his career average with 80 yards per game to go with four touchdowns and 14.8 yards per catch. But in his six games against Cleveland, Chase averages 51 yards per game, 9.59 yards per catch, and has two touchdowns.
On Thursday, he praised Browns cornerback Denzel Ward.
"He's mad patient. He's by far one of the best I've ever played against in the league," Chase said. "He's got slow feet, good hips, plays the ball well in the air. A lot of DBs, when they get close cushion, they get startled or flat-footed. The times I try to break Denzel's cushion, he just keeps backing up, staying with his footwork and technique."
And before they take "slow feet," and post a phony headline that says Star Bengals Receiver Insults Browns Pro Bowler, Chase is praising Ward for his patience at the line of scrimmage: "He's got fast feet, but the movement is slow for him." …
You know those two guys drawing plays in the dirt in Miami? Carson Palmer, the new head coach at his alma mater of Santa Margarita High School outside of Los Angeles, has asked Houshmandzadeh to help coach the offense. Offensive coordinator, Houshmandzadeh says, couldn't be done because of his FOX duties ...
Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (fibula) and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (illness) missed their second practice of the week Thursday …
Higgins (knee) got a rest Thursday …
Right guard Alex Cappa (concussion) went limited Thursday for a second straight day …
Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr. (illness) missed a second straight day Thursday …
Wide receiver Charlie Jones (groin) went limited for a second straight day …
