Of all the things that exist on the internet, one of the go-tos for football fanatics are old LSU practice videos featuring Derek Stingley Jr., and Ja’Marr Chase going at it as college teammates. Chase jokes that Stingley only gets the best of him in those videos, because someone close to Stingley must have edited them and posted only the clips that made the cornerback look better than the receiver.
Now, Chase has an NFL highlight against Stingley that will live forever after the Cincinnati Bengals’ 20-6 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday at Reliant Stadium.
The Bengals receiver caught two touchdown passes, but it’s the first one that has everyone buzzing with Chase saying it belongs in his “top two” of all-time great catches alongside his long Super Bowl reception in 2022.
Joe Burrow, who was the leader of LSU’s national championship team that included Chase and Stingley, threw a go ball to Chase down the sidelines. Stingley had excellent coverage on his buddy, but the two got their feet tangled as they approached the end zone. Chase appeared to give a slight push on Stingley’s back to regain his balance, then spun around and somehow grabbed the ball while keeping his toes just inside the boundary.
“Just threw it high and let the guy go make a play,” said Burrow, who won a Heisman Trophy by letting Chase make plays for him at LSU. “An unbelievable play, unbelievable.”
Before he saw a replay of the catch, the two-time All-Pro receiver said he didn’t even realize he’d lost his balance.
“I really don’t know what I did,” he said. “I couldn’t see the ball for a second. I was just fighting, trying to get into position and by the time I saw the ball, it was already coming really fast.”
Stingley could only shake his head and smile about being the victim on a play going viral on social media, but he wasn’t quite ready to appreciate the catch.
“Did you say appreciate?” he said. “Nah, I’ve seen him do way crazier things than that before. He made a great play.”
I mean LOOK AT THIS ANGLE 🔥🔥 https://t.co/LCoXX0lGxcpic.twitter.com/7D2kL54Y4i
– Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 20, 2026
After realizing his old teammate had made a sensational grab, Stingley looked toward the ref and asked about a possible push, but he didn’t use that as an excuse after the game.
“The refs didn’t call it, so it wasn’t a flag,” he said. “I’ve just got to play through it and try to make a play on the ball the best way I can.”
The opponents have known each other since they were 14 years old, playing on the same 7-on-7 team as two of the top recruits in Louisiana before ending up at LSU together. Chase has said the two used to get into all kinds of fights and trash-talking battles as teenagers, but both say they barely spoke during Sunday’s game, which was just their second in the NFL with Stingley and Texans winning the battle at Cincinnati in 2023.
“I think we’re past the days where we fight at practice,” Stingley said. “We’re just out there playing ball.”
The trash-talking days are so far behind the two that Chase even stuck up for Stingley when describing his catch.
“I didn’t really beat him,” he said. “He went over the top of me and Joe threw a good enough ball where the DB couldn’t get to it.”
The throw was no accident. Burrow is always looking for Chase – or “No. 1,” as the quarterback calls him – but is extra careful when he sees Stingley on him, because he also has memories from those LSU practice days.
“Derek has great ball skills, so you always got to be aware of that in the back of your mind about where you throw it,” Burrow said. “We talk about it all the time. When the ball’s in the air, you’ve either got to come down with it or it’s got to be an incompletion. I’m going to trust my guys against anybody in the league, it doesn’t matter who’s out there, especially when it’s No. 1.”
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This article originally published at Ja’Marr Chase, Derek Stingley Jr. discuss WR’s highlight-reel TD catch in Bengals’ win over Texans.
