The Truth About Joe Burrow And Ja'Marr Chase's Relationship

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow might only be in his second NFL season, but he was thrust into the spotlight when the franchise advanced to the playoffs in the 2021 season. Per Pro-Football-Reference, the Bengals have made the playoffs seven times between 2005 and 2015, though they fell in the Wild Card round each time. But after an upset victory against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Game on January 30, 2022, Burrow made history as the first quarterback to lead the Bengals to the Super Bowl since 1988, according to Pro-Football-Reference.

As of this writing, The Sporting News reports that Burrow has already broken records in the regular season too. In 2021, he threw for 4,611 passing yards, smashing the 4,293 passing yards that former Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton held in 2013. One of Burrow's favorite targets is Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, who played with the star quarterback at Louisiana State University. Per Sporting News, Chase leads the Bengals in receiving yards and touchdown receptions, but he's also the first rookie to rack up more than 1,400 receiving yards in a season. As a result, Sports Illustrated notes that he's in prime position to win Rookie of the Year. Now, as Burrow and Chase prepare to face the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI, it remains to be seen whether or not this iconic duo can continue to create magic together on the football field.

Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase are far from the only former college teammates to reunite in the NFL. According to The Ringer, Andrew Luck and Coby Fleener — who both graduated from Stanford — ended up together at the Colts in 2012. More recently, Oklahoma State alums James Washington and Mason Rudolph teamed up again at the Pittsburgh Steelers, per the outlet. However, few pairings have had the meteoric effect that Chase and Burrow have had on the NFL. "There are only a couple of guys like [Chase] in the league, speed wise," Burrow told NBC Sports in January 2022. "But I think what really makes him special is his ability to break tackles ... Guys like that are tough to come by."

Clearly, Burrow is full of admiration for his wide receiver, and in fact, he played a pivotal role in Cincinnati's decision to scoop Chase up in the 2021 draft. "I don't know that I needed a lot of convincing," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said, per The Ringer. "I just said, 'On a scale of 1 to 10, what would be your excitement level if we added Ja'Marr Chase?' And [Burrow] said, '10.'" Chase seems to return the sentiment when it comes to Burrow. Ahead of the Bengals playoff game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Chase paid tribute to his quarterback by wearing a Burrow fan shirt underneath his jersey, via Twitter.

It's no secret that the Cincinnati Bengals are currently enjoying one of their most successful seasons of all time, but is that success due in large part to Ja'Marr Chase? It may be down to the previous relationship that Chase and Joe Burrow share, which allows them to anticipate each others' moves and style of play on the football field. "He's a really smart player that understands what we're trying to do in the offense," Burrow told the Cincinnati Enquirer in 2021. "I'm not going to have to tell him what to do every single play. He knows exactly what's expected of him." He further praised Chase as "super smooth on the field," according to the outlet. Brian Callahan, the team's offensive coordinator, said that the pair's chemistry was apparent early on, per NFL.com. "The cool thing is Joe's done that with Ja'Marr for two years and this is the third year of doing it. They got a good rapport," he shared. "You can see it and feel it. They know how to communicate with each other."

Not only are the pair close enough to volunteer to spend extra time with each other in training camp, per the Cincinnati Enquirer, but their parents are also good friends. Following the Bengals' win over Kansas City, a picture went viral of Chase and Burrow's dads smoking victory cigars. Whether or not they'll be smoking together come February 13 is anyone's guess.