Bengals 20, Texans 6: Chase answers Week 1
By Jordan Vance
Ja'Marr Chase had two catches for 12 yards in Week 1. He answered with two touchdowns in Week 2, and Cincinnati beat Houston 20–6 on the road. Don't trust any live scoreboard that showed the Bengals with 29 points — the official final is 20–6.
Chase made sure nobody was still talking about Week 1. He caught 7 passes for 75 yards and both of Joe Burrow's touchdown passes, including an 18-yard score in front of a diving defender that put Cincinnati up two scores in the third quarter. Chase said afterward he wasn't worried about his quiet opener — "we got weapons on this team," he said — and Burrow, backing that up, made getting Chase the ball early a clear priority from the first drive on. Burrow finished 20-of-31 for 207 yards while playing through back tightness that limited his practice time during the week. Tee Higgins had a strong day of his own, 5 catches for 95 yards on a team-high 10 targets.
C.J. Stroud threw for 353 yards and didn't score a single touchdown. It's the kind of stat line that looks good and means nothing — Houston's backs finished with 18 rushing yards, and the Texans played without top receiver Nico Collins, who didn't suit up. Dalton Schultz picked up the slack as well as anyone could, catching 12 of 14 targets for 140 yards — a massive workload for a tight end and easily Houston's best offensive weapon on the day. Cincinnati's defense held Houston to two field goals and forced a 5-of-17 day on third downs.
Fantasy winners
Chase's bounce-back is the headline, but Higgins' 10-target day is just as real a signal — Cincinnati's passing game has two legitimate weekly starters right now. Schultz's usage with Collins out is worth remembering the next time Houston is missing a receiver; he's shown he can handle a real target share.
Fantasy questions
Stroud's yardage without touchdowns or a functioning run game is a volume-only game — don't read this as a breakout without the score column to match. Collins' absence is the one to track before Week 3; Houston's passing game clearly leans differently without him healthy.