Joe Brady is all too familiar with the challenges that two Cincinnati Bengals stars will present the Buffalo Bills when the two teams square off on Sunday afternoon.
The Bills’ offensive coordinator previously served as the passing game coordinator for the 2019 national champion LSU Tigers, which featured Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow and top wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase — both of whom will lead the Bengals into Buffalo in Week 14.
“Joe and I go way back — I guess it’s way back at this point,” said Burrow while speaking to reporters on Wednesday. “He was great for my career. We did some fun things together and we got a great relationship. So, I look forward to seeing and talking to him for sure.”
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Nov 16, 2019; Oxford, MS, USA; ESPN talks with Louisiana State Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow (9) and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase (1) after the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
Historic run
As a result of the immense success recorded by the Tigers’ passing game during their championship campaign, Brady earned the Broyles Award as college football’s top assistant coach. During the 2019 season, LSU’s offense averaged 568.5 yards and 48.4 points per game, which placed it as the highest-rated attack in the sport that year.
In his Heisman-winning campaign, Burrow set a new single-season college football record with 60 passing touchdowns, while Chase finished the season with 1,780 yards receiving and 20 touchdowns. Brady parlayed the unit’s success into an NFL opportunity with the Carolina Panthers, who hired him as their offensive coordinator in 2020.
“Bringing all the NFL concepts to to what we were doing at LSU,” said Burrow as to how Brady helped impact his career. “And, you know, fortunately, that’s my strength is being able to read and react and get the ball out quickly and finding the right guys. And that’s that’s what that offense was about.”
He added, “We did some special things together and worked through a lot of problems. We solved a lot of problems and that’s that’s what great players and coaches do. So that was a special time.”
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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase (1) smashes a donut on the face of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) after the game against the Dallas Cowboys. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
The other side
Now with the Bills since 2022, Brady’s new squad will be tasked with slowing two of his former pupils, who have since become high-caliber talents while competing alongside one another at the NFL level. In five professional seasons, Chase has recorded 371 receptions, 5,090 yards and 46 touchdowns while Burrow has been under center.
Brady has seen first-hand what the Bengals’ dynamic duo can do to opposing defenses. The Bills will prepare to do all they can to slow the QB-WR combo on Sunday afternoon, which could start with cornerback Christian Benford lining up against Chase on the outside.
Benford has had success in recent weeks while lining up against opponents’ No. 1 wide receivers, including this past week, when he didn’t allow a single reception to DK Metcalf across 10 man coverage reps against the Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receiver. It’s likely the Bills will look to deploy Benford in a similar fashion against Chase in Week 14.
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