Film Room: Chase in the backfield

The Cincinnati Bengals offense had a great game plan for last weekend’s game against the Buffalo Bills. One aspect that stuck out was how they used Ja’Marr Chase in their formations. They lined Chase up in the backfield, put him in orbit/fly motion, and shifted him out of the backfield.

This impacted the defense in multiple ways.

Using Chase as a decoy set up a lot of success for Joe Mixon in the run game.

Here, the Bengals line up with a pair of receivers spread out on either side of the formation. Chase is in the slot at the bottom of the screen.

As he goes in motion, Taron Johnson follows him. Both linebackers adjust towards the motion, leaving Johnson, a nickel cornerback by trade, as the…