Ja'Marr Chase likens Joe Burrow to Captain America as Bengals enter critical Bills game as underdogs

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Joe Burrow‘s return breathed life into the Cincinnati Bengals’ chances of streaking to the playoffs, but at 4-8, work remains.

First, they need to beat the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in a road matchup Cincinnati enters as underdogs (+5.5). But don’t call Burrow a dark horse.

“I don’t think Joe is the underdog. I think they’re looking at the whole team as the underdog in the situation,” receiver Ja’Marr Chase said Thursday. “Joe’s just doing what Captain America do, save us the day. You know what I’m saying? That’s what we need him to do as a quarterback, as a leader of the offense, of the whole team. We need him to step up and be that guy.”

Captain America is an apt moniker for Burrow, but that’s not a new nickname Chase is suggesting for the QB.

“No, no, no. That’s not his nickname. Shiesty. I like Shiesty,” Chase said, smiling.

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The Bengals are 3-0 in games Burrow has started this season, including a 32-14 Week 13 win over the Baltimore Ravens. The QB missed Weeks 3-12 with turf toe, and Cincinnati went 1-8 over that span.

Burrow has the best career completion percentage (71.1), passing yards per game (296.0) and passer rating (105.4) in December or later (including playoffs) since 1970 (minimum 15 starts). His .783 QB winning percentage and 49-15 pass TD-INT ratio in Dec. or later both rank fourth (min. 15 starts).

Even with Burrow’s return, the Bengals are still a long shot to squeak into the playoffs. Next Gen Stats gives Cincy a 4% chance of making the postseason. So you’re saying there’s a chance.

“I never feel like an underdog going into something,” Chase added. “I don’t think nobody on this team feels like (an) underdog going into anything or any game. There’s too many teams that (respect) us way too hard for us to be underdogs. I think how we respond to the games we lose, people determine us as underdogs. So it’s just how we respond to everything.”

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