Bengals Pro Bowler admits Ravens' Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry pairing is so good it's like cheating

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase wouldn't play as the Baltimore Ravens in a game of Madden NFL football, but he does have to give credit where it's due.

Chase and the Bengals are getting set to face the Baltimore Ravens this Sunday in an all-important AFC North showdown. It will also be the first time an AFC North opponent faces the Ravens' new-look rushing attack with Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson shredding defenses.

When asked about Baltimore's duo of Jackson and Henry, Chase told reporters Thursday that both of them now being paired together in the same offense is unfairly good.

"That's cheating," Chase said after practice. "If I'm playing Madden, RPO read with them. It's pretty coppin' on the game, and in real life, they're still doing the same thing. It's a great duo they have back there.

Chase doesn't always come equipped with praise for upcoming opponents. In the past, he's made jabs at the Cleveland Browns for their elf logo , the Kansas City Chiefs' defense for their personnel , and others have come into his crosshairs as well.

In this case, the three-time Pro Bowler couldn't lie. Jackson and Henry are just that good together.

Henry currently leads the NFL in rushing with 480 yards and five touchdowns to boot. He's rushed for 350 yards in just the last two games, and the Ravens won both of those contests.

But it's not just Henry's dominant rushing ability that defenses have to worry about. The threat of the run with Jackson adds another layer that Henry's never been able to benefit from before. Jackson leads all non-running backs in yards on the ground with 309 and has found the end zone twice himself.

And when the two run read options together? Chase is right, that does seem like cheating. 219 of Jackson's 309 yards have been on designed runs, with most of them being keepers as defensive fronts crash down towards Henry off the edge.

Chase himself doesn't have to worry about stopping Jackson or Henry, he just has to focus on outscoring them on Sunday. That will be a tall task in of itself as Cincinnati's poorly-ranked run defense presents an ideal matchup for Baltimore.

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