NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
If Tee Higgins (5) returns from injury this week and starts opposite Ja’Marr Chase (1), Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) will have his pick of star receiver options against the Chargers. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
They call him the best receiver in the NFL. They say he’s always open. Whatever praise has been heaped upon Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase, Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton has already heard — and seen — it firsthand.
The childhood friends, high school teammates and national champions at Louisiana State will line up against each other Sunday at SoFi Stadium as the Chargers host the Cincinnati Bengals in a critical prime-time game.
Fulton plans to play after a hamstring injury kept him out for two games. The return comes just in time as the Chargers (6-3) test their top-ranked defense in a five-game stretch against explosive offenses.
The next five games will affirm or expose the Chargers defense that allows a league-best 13.1 points per game, but hasn’t faced a team that ranks in the top 10 in points scored entering Week 11.
With Chase and quarterback Joe Burrow, the Bengals (4-6) are fourth in the NFL with 245.8 yards passing per game and sixth in scoring with 27 points per game.
Chase lit up the Baltimore Ravens last week for 264 yards and three touchdowns on 11 catches and leads the NFL in the three major receiving categories — 981 yards receiving, 66 catches and 10 touchdowns.
Read more: Do Chargers or Rams have a better chance to make the playoffs? Let’s examine …
“They’re on fire right now, as far as that connection, and we know they’re gonna throw the ball,” Fulton said, “and that’s what you live for as a defensive back.”
Fulton, who said he feels 100% after his injury, won a national championship with Burrow and Chase at Louisiana State, where he was named second-team All-SEC as a senior in 2019.
He credits the dynamic offensive duo for his success, the same way he knows his former teammates credit him for theirs. He and Chase…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kristian-fulton-back-chargers-lineup-024928670.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-11-14 02:49:28
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
