On Sunday, as one of our top five headlines, we discussed the brilliant performance by Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase of Harvey, Louisiana. In a 34-20 Bengals win over the Arizona Cardinals, Chase became only the fifth National Football League wide receiver to have 15 receptions and three touchdowns in a single game. In the process, he broke the Bengals single game record for most catches in a game. The previous record belonged to Carl Pickens of Murphy, North Carolina, who had 13 catches for 204 receiving yards and one touchdown in a 25-20 Bengals win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 11, 1998.
On Sunday, Chase had 15 catches for 192 receiving yards and three touchdowns. His major scores of two yards, three yards and 63 yards came from Bengals starting quarterback Joe Burrow of Ames, Iowa, the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Here are the other four wide receivers to record three touchdowns and 15 receptions in a single game.
Steve Largent
The Hall of Fame wide receiver from Tulsa, Oklahoma had 15 catches for 261 yards and three touchdowns for the Seattle Seahawks on October 18, 1987 in a 37-14 Seattle Seahawks win over the Detroit Lions. Largent set the Seahawks record for most catches and receiving yards in a game. Largent’s touchdown catches were of 19, 21, and two yards, and all came in the first quarter from quarterback Jeff Kemp of Santa Ana, California.
Jerry Rice
The Hall of Fame wide receiver from Crawford, Mississippi had 16 catches for 165 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-27 San Francisco 49ers win over the Los Angeles Rams on November 20, 1994. Rice’s touchdown catches of seven, five and 18 receiving yards came from fellow Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young of Salt Lake City, Utah, who is recognized as our best lefthanded quarterback in NFL history. That season, Rice led the NFL with 1499 receiving yards.
Jimmy Smith
The five-time Pro Bowler from Detroit, Michigan had 15 catches for 291 receiving yards on September 10, 2020 for the Jacksonville Jaguars. But it was not enough as the Jaguars lost 39-36 to the Baltimore Ravens. The 291 receiving yards were a single game Jaguars franchise record.
Tyler Lockett
The active Seahawks wide receiver from Tulsa, Oklahoma had 15 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns on October 25, 2020. However like Smith, the performance was not good enough as the Seattle Seahawks lost 37-34 to the Arizona Cardinals.
