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Ja’Marr Chase Overtakes Mac Jones as the Favorite in NFL OROY Odds After Record-Setting Day

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in NFL Football

Updated Jan 3, 2022 · 6:26 AM PST

Ja’Marr Chase
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
  • Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is the -230 favorite to win the NFL OROY Award
  • The first-year WR set an NFL rookie record with 266 receiving yards in Sunday’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs
  • New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (+150) is the only other rookie still on the board

The chase for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year may have ended on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase went off against the reigning two-time AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Mac Jones was also impressive at quarterback for the New England Patriots in their 50-10 drubbing of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

With a game to go until a winner must be decided, it’s Chase who’s stuck his nose in front. He’s the -230 chalk in the NFL OROY odds. Jones, at +175, is falling off the pace.

2021 NFL OROY Odds

Player (Team) Odds
Ja’Marr Chase (Bengals) -230
Mac Jones (Patriots) +175

Odds as of January 3rd at FanDuel

Jones entered Week 17 of the NFL season with odds of -400 to win the award. Chase was at a betting line of +300.

Chase for the NFL OROY

On the winning drive of Cincinnati’s 34-31 victory, Chiefs defensive back Chavarius Ward summed up where the NFL OROY race is at for the moment. He threw his hands up in the air in utter disbelief after Chase beat him for a 30-yard reception on a third-and-27 play.

It was Chase’s chance to make a statement and in this game, he put an emphatic exclamation point at the end of the sentence during what would be a record-setting day. He caught 11 balls for three touchdowns and a whopping 266 yards in receptions. The latter number was a new NFL mark for a rookie receiver.

Chase emphasized versatility in his ability to find the end zone. He got deep down the sideline for a 69-yard TD. He displayed his improvisational skills, turning an out pattern into a 69-yard score by cutting the route back to the inside of the field. The rookie from LSU added another TD of 18 yards on a fade pattern.

Chase became the first NFL rookie in 52 years to record multiple 200-yard receiving games. In doing so, he helped the 10-6 Bengals clinch the AFC North Division title. Cincinnati won a combined six games over the previous two seasons.

Jones Tries to Keep Up

Like an old car on bald tires, Patriots QB Jones found himself skidding all over the place in December. Sunday, in his first January game as an NFLer, he made the Jaguars quiver.

Jones was displaying more aggression in his play calling, connecting with passes to seven different receivers. He finished the day 22-of-30 for 227 yards and three TDs. That gave Jones 20 TD passes, breaking Jim Plunkett’s 1971 franchise-rookie record of 19.

https://twitter.com/Ryan_Spags/status/1477783530088321029?s=20

The last QB selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Jones has now recorded victories over Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence (#1) and Zach Wilson (#2) of the New York Jets, the top two QBs selected in the draft. However, his latest win, as impressive as it was, came against the NFL’s worst team. Jacksonville (2-14) has lost eight in a row.

The chance for Jones to make his statement came the previous two weeks in back-to-back losses to the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts. In a 27-17 loss to Indy, his passer rating was 54.3. It was an even more dismal 40.0 as the Pats were felled 33-21 by Buffalo. Jones threw for two TDs against four interceptions in those two key games that cost New England the chance to win the AFC East.

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Face It, the Chase Is Over

While Jones is breaking franchise records, Chase is rewriting NFL rookie standards. His 1,427 yards in receptions are the most ever by a rookie wideout, shattering the 1,400 yards compiled last season by Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, Chase’s old LSU teammate.

Jones is playing the toughest position on the field. That’s why QBs have won the last two and three of the past five NFL OROY awards. Chase is playing the toughest skill postion on the field to win the NFL OROY.  Just five WR have won the award since 1986.

They need to dominate to state their case. Chase has delivered those goods.

Pick: Ja’Marr Chase (Bengals) -230

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