photo: twitter.com/bengals
Ja'Marr Chase and Joe Burrow celebrate after getting the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year and Comeback of the Year awards on Feb. 10, 2022.
The Cincinnati Bengals' outstanding season keeps paying off, with the team's young stars right at the center.
During Thursday's NFL Honors awards show, the Bengals — who are preparing for Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles — got some love in the form of coveted hardware. Wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase was named the 2021 Offensive Rookie of the Year, while quarterback Joe Burrow earned Comeback Player of the Year honors.
Chase, a first-round draft pick, had a stellar 2021-2022 season, pulling down 81 catches for 1,455 yards along with 13 touchdowns. He set a new Bengals record for receiving yards during the regular season and has more than any rookie since the Super Bowl was created in 1966, among other accomplishments. Chase is just the third Bengals player to win Offensive Rookie of the Year and the first since 1992.
Burrow famously came roaring back during the 2021 season after being sidelined in 2020 with a torn ACL. During the regular season, the second-year quarterback threw 366 passes for 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns. Burrow set several team records this season, including the most passing yards in a game, passing yards in a season and passing touchdowns in a season.
With Super Bowl practices in L.A., Chase and Burrow did not attend NFL Honors in person but accepted their awards live via video feed.
The players' new awards likely is amping up Bengals fans even more before the big game. This week, Cincinnati was named one of the nation's top football cities, and multiple Bowl-viewing parties have been established all over town, starting days before Sunday's kickoff. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has even signed a proclamation saying that Super Bowl Sunday is now Cincinnati Bengals Day.
The Bengals will take on the Los Angeles Rams during Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, Feb. 13. The Rams won the Jan. 30 NFC Championship game to advance with the Bengals, who overcame the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime just hours earlier to become the AFC champs. This will be just the third time the Bengals have gone to the Super Bowl and the team's first since 1989.
The Super Bowl will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Rams' home of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (the Bengals will serve as the home team). NBC will broadcast the game, and fans also can watch on Peacock, Telemundo, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
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