Bengals News (10/27): Handling success

How Preparation Has Put Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase On Historic Route
You know, the one Sunday in Baltimore where wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase vanished to escape three Ravens in the middle of the field. Then reappeared in the end zone with an 82-yard touchdown that vaulted the Bengals into first place in the AFC North with a puff of smoke that signaled they're here to stay with the NFL's newest prolific playmaker.

Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase Named AFC Offensive Player of the Week
Chase caught eight passes for a Bengals rookie-record 201 receiving yards and a TD on Sunday. His receiving yardage total was the highest in the AFC so far this season, and his 82-yard TD in the third quarter was the longest pass play of the year in the AFC. Chase's 754 receiving yards currently lead the AFC and rank as the most ever by an NFL player through his first seven games.

Taylor-Made Takes: Zac Taylor talks about handling success with the Bengals at 5-2
No question. Every player came up big for us and in this one we were going to need everybody. And there was some adversity there. There were some lulls in the game where it could have flipped. That's happened to us in the past, but the past is behind us now. These guys understand how to handle a lead and when those possessions are big where we need to make a big play, like our defense did on some of those fourth downs and then our offense turned it right around and capitalized and put seven points on the board. Tremendous team effort.

The Bengals Are Good. Ja’Marr Chase Makes Them Interesting
The Bengals have a reputation as the football equivalent of a mom-and-pop corner hardware store operating on a shoestring budget. Their state-of-the-mid-20th-century fitness facility features five military surplus weight benches and a garden hose for hydration. Their practice field yields alfalfa in the off-season. Their scouting department consists of unpaid interns and a box of VHS tapes of Ohio State games. Trade requests go straight to their answering machine.

Film Breakdown: What Makes the Cincinnati Bengals' Passing Attack So Deadly
Their last two first round picks really showed off on offense. Joe Burrow's ability to maneuver within the pocket stood out and Ja’Marr Chase showed everything that could be asked of a receiver. This combination led to the biggest performance of either player’s career so far. The Bengals’ passing attack is one of the most fearsome in the league when these two players are on like they were in Baltimore.

NFL: Bengals show patience is a virtue
The Cincinnati Bengals handed then-36-year-old Zac Taylor the keys to the franchise in 2019. At the time, the move drew little notice outside Cincinnati, for obvious reasons: nobody knew who Zac Taylor was, and nobody much cared about the Bengals, either. Hell, the last time the Bengals won a playoff game was in 1991 over the Houston Oilers, that’s how off-the-radar the franchise had been.

Cincinnati Bengals Workout Veteran Linebacker Tahir Whitehead Ahead of Week 8 Matchup Against Jets
The Bengals could be interested in adding a veteran linebacker to the roster after losing Jordan Evans for the season. Cincinnati promoted Joe Bachie from the practice squad to the active roster on Tuesday. They might've wanted to get a look at Whitehead before making the move or may still be interested in the 31-year-old.

Bengals compensatory pick outlook gets a boost from John Ross
So let’s swing it back in a positive direction about Ross, a former top-10 pick by the Bengals now suiting up for the New York Giants. Since Ross continues to get reps with those Giants, he’s actually put a fourth-round compensatory pick back on the table for the Bengals.

Why Bengals picking Ja'Marr Chase over Penei Sewell was a watershed moment in NFL history
A team that had just picked one of the the most widely beloved quarterback prospects in NFL history at No. 1 overall watched him get beat up during an encouraging rookie season that prematurely ended with a torn ACL, and decided the following year to select his receiver buddy from college instead of a believed-to-be generational offensive tackle.

Around the league

Panthers not expected to pursue Deshaun Watson trade at this time
Watson has not played a down for the Houston Texans this season as the legal cases unfold. Prior to the civil suits being filed, Watson had requested a trade. With the Nov. 2 deadline for players to be traded approaching, questions have ramped up regarding whether a team would trade for the QB given the uncertainty surrounding his future.

Bears LB Khalil Mack (foot) not expected to play vs. 49ers, might go on IR
The team intends to rest Mack's foot injury Sunday as the Bears play host to the San Francisco 49ers, and there are ongoing discussions about whether to place Mack on injured reserve, which would sideline him a minimum of three more games, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.

The truth about Trevon Diggs: Sorting out Cowboys CB's 'boom or bust' season
And it sure seems like Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs is riding his run of success to the moon, racking up picks at that incredible clip to set himself up as a potential Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

NFL Week 8 underdogs: Will the Steelers knock off the Browns? Can the Lions record their first win?
Itching to watch an underdog try to overcome the odds or triumph against adversity? Simply looking to pass the time reading another NFL.com article while stuck in your cube? Marc Sessler offers a bead on six us-against-the-world scenarios to track entering Week 8 of the 2021 NFL season. The order below is determined by confidence rankings, from No. 1 (most confident) to No. 6 (least confident).