Bengals rookie wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase broke Chad Johnson's single-season club record early in Sunday's regular-season finale in Cleveland when he ripped of a 24-yard wide receiver screen.
Working with backup quarterback Brandon Allen and a makeshift offensive line featuring rookie left tackle D'Ante Smith making his first NFL start against 15-sacker Myles Garrett, Chase got the record on the first play of the second series. He followed wide receiver Stanley Morgan Jr.'s perimeter block and then went past Chad when he ran out of free safety John Johnson III's tackle. He came in needing just a dozen yards and got it on his second catch.
That left him with 1,455 yards, 18 shy of Bill Groman's all-time rookie record set in the AFL ten years before the merger and Allen went right back to him on a far sideline route that was overthrown.
That looked to be it for the day because Chase was called to the sidelines, where he was given a jacket after two catches for 26 yards.
