You’d think that Ja’Marr Chase, one of 13 men to have a 1,700-yard season and the guy who broke Chad Johnson’s Bengals’ single-season record with 1,455 as a rookie, would ho-hum 1,000 yards.

Not so with his fifth straight 1,000-yard season 29 yards away Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati’s FOX 19) in Buffalo.

“That’s my goal. I want to make sure I get that every year,” Chase said after Thursday’s practice. “I think 1,000 yards means a lot to all receivers. Even in high school growing up, you always wanted to hit 1,000 receiving yards, ten touchdowns. You always want to get into the double digits, for sure.”

And it should be easier with quarterback Joe Burrow making his second start since coming back from turf toe. Chase gave him a new nickname Thursday.

“Joe just doing what Captain America (does). Save the day,” Chase said. “That’s what we need him to do as a quarterback, as a leader the offense or the whole team. We need him to step up and be that guy, because he is.”

Chase is poised to join Bengals great A.J. Green as one of five players with 1,000 yards in each of their first five seasons. Randy Moss, Mike Evans and college chum Justin Jefferson are the others.

“I want to reach it every year if that’s possible and capitalizing off what I’ve done from the previous years. It won’t be easy, of course,” Chase said. “I think just setting the standard to get to ,000 is going to push me to whatever,” Chase said.

‘We’re Going To Go Hard Forever”

Center Ted Karras found out he had been named the winner of the Bengals’ NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award right after Thursday’s walkthrough.

Not great timing for one of the team’s more intense players, a guy who even gets jacked up at walkthrough making sure he’s got all the calls.

Karras, the index cards in his head still fluttering, was sent to the Paycor Stadium media room, where he thought he was going to be interviewed by a national media member.

“I thought maybe Bridget Condon,” said Karras of the NFL Network personality. “I wasn’t in a good mood. I love Bridget Condon, but I was preparing myself to get rid of the angst I had from walkthrough to give a good interview.”

Instead, his entire family greeted him with word that he had been named the Payton winner for the second time in three years for his work with the Cincy Hat Foundation he founded in 2024. That was two years after the Hat took Cincy by storm and shed light on his commitment to providing housing and services for adults with intellectual and development disabilities with the proceeds benefitting Village of Merici, a living community and service provider based in his hometown of Indianapolis.

Since he won the fan vote in the Man of the Year Nationwide’s Charity Challenge in 2023, Karras’ foundation has bolted to new heights in hooking up with more than 150 businesses, nonprofits and schools.

“It’s a full-circle moment,” Karras said after Thursday’s practice. “This community is underserved throughout the nation. There’s a humongous need for apartments and living areas. There’ll never not be enough work to do, so we’ll go hard forever.

“This town has so much synergy with the IDD community. There are so many people working towards this mission with bettering the lives of these individuals. It was destined to be in this town and on this team.”

Karras says his foundation is building a facility in Cincinnati’s Madisonville section. He’s also working on projects with Bengals Ring of Honor member Ken Anderson and his Ken Anderson Alliance, a foundation that also focuses on living areas for the adult IDD community.

Karras took note this week of Anderson’s advancement to the Pro Football Hall of Fame final ballot and recalled he’s not only an NFL MVP (1981), but an NFL Man of the Year (1975).

“I’m a big Ken Anderson guy. I think he’ll get in,” Karras said. “I think Cincinnati is underrepresented (in the Hall of Fame). He’s one of the best quarterbacks in a storied franchise in the NFL. There’s no better fit than Ken Anderson.”

It sounds like the Bills are going to send cornerback Christian Benford against Chase. He’s been traveling with the foes’ No.1 receivers, and according to Next Gen Stats, the 6-1, 205-pound Benford (mirroring Chase) hasn’t been giving up much the last seven weeks.

The Falcons’ Drake London had two targets and no catches, the Panthers’ Tetairoa McMillan two catches for 17 yards on four targets, Tampa Bay’s Emeka Egbuka didn’t get targeted, and the Texans’ Nico Collins caught both targets for 43 yards. Last week in Pittsburgh, Benford held DK Metcalf to no catches and a target.

“Handsy. Just real handsy,” said Chase which means, “Try to try to be physical at the line.”

Chase, a New Orleans native, heads into his fifth NFL December and he’s still not used to the cold. It figures to be below freezing in Buffalo Sunday, and it was about 30 degrees in Cincinnati Thursday as he hit the Paycor Stadium field with no sleeves.

That’s because he does everything in long sleeves except play games.

“First, the ball is easy to slip, and that’s really the main reason why I do it, so I just stay away from it,” Chase said. “Every Thursday I do like no sleeves when it gets cold.

“Make it feel like game day going into Thursday third down (work) with the process of just having everything down for the game. Every rep.”

Chase has played in two sub-freezing games and caught a lot of passes in wins. In the 21-degree Christmas Eve game in New England in 2022, he had a rare fumble but also had eight catches for 79 yards. In last season’s 19-degree finale in Pittsburgh, he finished off his Triple Crown season with 10 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.

“I’m still adjusting to (cold),” Chase said. “I say that I’m not all the way there yet.”