If anybody can slow down Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase, it’s Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II.

Ja’Marr Chase (1) of the Cincinnati Bengals makes a catch over Pat Surtain II (2) of the Denver Broncos during the second quarter at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio on Saturday, Dec. 28 ...

Ja'Marr Chase and the Cincinnati Bengals kept their NFL playoff hopes alive with a 19-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night. Now, with the regular season over for the Bengals, they will need the Denver Broncos and the Miami Dolphins to fall on Sunday in order to make the postseason.

CINCINNATI — Bengals star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase will join an exclusive club if he scores one more touchdown to close out the 2024 regular season. He's a part of the "100/1" club for a single NFL season as of this writing, but needs one more touchdown to cement himself in that group.

At the 9:49 mark of the first quarter, quarterback Joe Burrow hit Chase for a 12-yard touchdown catch to give the Bengals an early 7-0 lead. In doing so, Chase tied former Cincinnati wide receiver Carl Pickens for the most touchdown receptions in a single season in franchise history with 17.

The Denver Broncos extinguished the Cincinnati Bengals' playoff hopes, and claimed the AFC's No. 7 seed in the NFL playoffs.

Even though the money will be tough to figure out, there's still a glimmer of hope that Tee Higgins will remain with the Cincinnati Bengals beyond 2024

Joe Burrow leads the NFL in passing yards (4,229) and touchdowns (39). His top receiver, Ja'Marr Chase, is the No. 1 pass-catcher in receptions (108), receiving yards (1,510) and touchdowns (16).

There’s good-on-good in the NFL. Then there’s Pat Surtain II vs. Ja’Marr Chase. The Denver cornerback and Cincinnati wide receiver could see each other often Saturday afternoon when their teams collide in a game with major playoff implications.

In the end, despite a five-game winning streak to close the season, the Cincinnati Bengals’ furious rally to make the 2025 NFL playoffs fell just short. With the Denver Broncos’ blowout win over a backup-laden Kansas City Chiefs team, Denver secured the AFC’s No. 7 seed, leaving an MVP-caliber Joe Burrow on the outside looking in of the postseason.

The Cincinnati Bengals season is officially over, and it was far from what fans and the organization expected going into the year, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t still some bright spots along the way.