The Cincinnati Bengals were coming off a disappointing 48-10 loss at the Minnesota Vikings as they headed into Monday night’s game at the Denver Broncos. Cincinnati then fell to 2-2 on the season as its offense failed to impress in a 28-3 defeat.
Following the Bengals’ latest loss, star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase shared a worrisome take regarding what went wrong for the club in Denver.
Ja’Marr Chase suggests Bengals lacked heart against Broncos
“Urgency is there, man, it’s just you gotta want it,” Chase said after the game, per Ben Baby of ESPN. “At the end of the day, we gotta want it. Today, it didn’t look like we wanted it.”
The Bengals’ offense understandably looked like a lesser unit in back-to-back defeats as star quarterback Joe Burrow continues to recover from a toe injury that could sideline him for the remainder of the campaign. Against Denver, current Cincinnati starting signal-caller Jake Browning completed 14-of-25 passes for 125 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
“I don’t question anybody’s effort in the locker room,” Browning said about Chase’s comment. “I don’t think that’s how everything goes for the Bengals.”
Ja’Marr Chase, Zac Taylor address sideline exchange in Broncos game
Late in the third quarter of Monday’s matchup, ESPN cameras spotted Chase and head coach Zac Taylor involved in what seemed to be a heated exchange. According to Jay Morrison of Sports Illustrated, Taylor said after the loss that Chase “just wants to win” and came “across as emotional” in that particular moment.
“That’s just a captain that works his tail off,” Taylor said about Chase. “All he wants to do is win the game. All he wants to do is affect the game, and oftentimes he feels like, ‘If I have the ball in my hands, I can do that.’ And I don’t disagree with him. We’re always looking for ways to get him the ball.”
Chase finished Monday’s game with just 23 receiving yards on five catches. Needless to say, the Browning-Chase connection will need to produce better numbers if the Bengals are going to achieve anything of note with Burrow sidelined.
“We just talked about the possessions, talking about what plays we can run, how we can attack certain coverages and get out there,” Chase said about his sideline interaction with Taylor on Monday. “I’m always frustrated if I’m losing, but it’s part of the game. Sometimes the emotions take over. Sometimes it looked like what it’s not supposed to, but it happens.”
As of Tuesday morning, ESPN BET had the Bengals as massive 10.5-point underdogs for this coming Sunday’s home game against the 3-1 Detroit Lions. Logic suggests the Detroit defense will largely focus on frustrating Chase early and often at Paycor Stadium on Oct. 5.
“I love Ja’Marr,” Taylor added during his post-game comments. “…I can’t say enough about him. I’m sure if those interactions are on the sideline, it just comes from a place of, ‘I want to help the team win, help me help the team win.’ And that’s what I love about him.”