ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — If anybody can slow down Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase, it’s Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II.
He did it before when both were rookies in 2021 and Surtain held Chase to a single catch for 3 yards on four targets on a day Joe Burrow threw for just 157 yards.
“That was early in my career. Rookie year? Yeah, it was a good game,” Surtain said. “They came in with a high-striking offense and we knew that we had to eliminate the explosives, eliminate their top threat. Ja’Marr, he’s a great player, one of, if not the best, receivers in the league.”
Surtain and Denver’s defense gets some help this weekend with the expected return of second-year cornerback Riley Moss, who has been out for a month with a sprained MCL.
Moss’s return to the lineup would allow defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to go back to playing primarily man coverage instead of zone, meaning Surtain could stick to Chase (108 catches for 1,510 yards and 16 TDs) while Moss defends Tee Higgins (58 receptions for 727 yards and seven TDs).
“They got a lot going on with themselves on the offensive side of the ball, so it’s gonna be a good challenge,” Surtain said. “Trying to eliminate them like how we did that time would be great.”
Eliminating Chase as a game-breaking threat could go a long way toward the Broncos (9-6) eliminating the Bengals (7-8) from the AFC playoff chase. Cincinnati needs to beat Denver to stay alive and the Broncos can clinch their first playoff berth since 2015 with a win or a tie Saturday.
Although …
Back in ’21, the Bengals and Broncos were both 7-6 when Surtain and Chase squared off for the first time. Despite Chase having the worst statistical day of his career, the Bengals escaped Denver with a 15-10 triumph that they parlayed into a Super Bowl run.
The Broncos lost their last three to finish on a four-game slide and a 7-10 record, one in a string of seven straight losing seasons, a skid they only snapped this year.
The Broncos missed a chance to clinch a playoff spot last Thursday when they frittered away a double-digit second-half lead in a 34-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Although coach Sean Payton had written “Run It!!” in thick letters across the top of his play sheet, he only called for 14 hand-offs after the Broncos drove down the field for a TD on their opening drive in which four running backs carried seven times for 43 yards, capped by Audric Estime’s 3-yard TD.
The Broncos likely will look to run it more Sunday with rain in the forecast and Chase and Burrow waiting on the opposite sideline.
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