On the summer turf in Miami, as two generations of Cincinnati Bengals receiving greats held a seminar on how to beat the NFL’s best, the student became the master.
“In order to put pressure on him,” Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase tried explaining to Chad Ochocinco, “you need to get on his cushion.”
Ochocinco, the former All-Pro wideout, wasn’t convinced. So Chase sent Ochocinco to line up, as if getting into a route. Go ahead, Chase gestured at Ochocinco. And the Bengals wideout, cosplaying a certain Denver Broncos cornerback, smacked Ochocinco in the chest as soon as he took a step.
“You’re not dipping that fast, Chad,” Chase told him, shaking his head.
Eventually, this clip from Ochocinco’s summer “Wideout Workshop” session went viral. Eventually, it made its way to Chad Wilson, a longtime defensive back trainer in South Florida. Eventually, Wilson texted the video to the boogeyman that Chase and Ochocinco were trying to figure out how to beat, the cornerback whose name never even came up in that clip: Pat Surtain II.
Look what they’re doing, Wilson texted Surtain.
That’s love, Surtain responded.
“I think the highest honor, highest respect you can get is from your peers,” Surtain said in July when asked about the video. “So hearing that is pretty cool to see.
“Telling Ocho, ‘It’s not that easy.’”
There are precious few schemes that Chase hasn’t conquered. The fifth-year NFL star thrived as a deep threat as a rookie in 2021, with 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns. He’s grown into an all-around magnet from both the outside and the slot, winning the NFL’s receiving Triple Crown in 2024 with a league-leading 127 catches, 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Surtain, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, is one of the only variables Chase has yet to solve.
“He’s a tough cover,” Surtain said Thursday. “You gotta be patient with him. Trusting your technique, switching it up on him.
“But when I look at matchups like that, I always try and look at — what routes did he succeed in, and how frequently does he get open in certain looks? And I try to minimize that as much as I can.”
It’s worked well enough thus far.
Standing 6-foot-2 with a wingspan upward of 78 inches, Surtain’s length is the starting point to his greatness. The endpoint is his studious nature. Surtain is hardly seen at his locker after practice without a tablet primed with cut-ups. That dedication to the cat-and-mouse nature of every rep has allowed him to thrive against Chase, an athletic marvel in his own right who once ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at his Pro Day in 2021.
When Chase came to Denver as a rookie in December 2021, he finished with a single grab on four targets — and didn’t register a single catch on Surtain, according to Pro Football Focus. In a rematch in 2024, Chase finished with nine catches for 102 yards in the Bengals’ 30-24 overtime win over the Broncos. But the LSU product had just three grabs on six targets against Surtain.
Surtain grinned on Thursday when asked if Chase would want revenge.
“Probably so,” Surtain said. “It’s going to be a good matchup. I mean, Monday Night, primetime football.”
The air deflated considerably for Round 3 of Surtain vs. Chase after the Bengals lost starting quarterback Joe Burrow to toe surgery. Surtain praised Cincinnati’s replacement, Jake Browning, saying the backup has “all the intangibles to succeed” and can “make the throws as needed.” Still, Surtain acknowledged there’s a “bit of a difference” between Browning and a two-time Pro Bowler.
Surtain could enter Monday night’s chess match with a bit extra on his chip, though. His DPOY follow-up hasn’t gone completely according to plan thus far. The Colts went after him in Week 2 like few teams have in Surtain’s career, and Chargers receiver Quentin Johnston wrestled off Surtain to go skidding for a 37-yard gain in Week 3.
Surtain fully expects Chase to come equipped with a few new tools in his arsenal, too, after he quite literally spent a day of his summer talking about how to beat him.
“I just gotta be ready,” Surtain said Thursday, “and prepared for it.”
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